This Icelandic novel in
translation tells the story of Bjartur and his struggles to survive as a
crofter in a hostile environment. Fiercely independent, he refuses help and
overcomes numerous setbacks to maintain his status after living many years in
servitude.
The landscape is bleak and
there is a similarly bleak emotional response from the characters in this
story. Ironically the First World War is greeted with enthusiasm, because for
the first time, Icelandic products sell for inflated prices and provide a
unique opportunity for the poverty stricken crofters to better themselves.
Sheep feature in abundance,
both in good health or otherwise, and the conversation of the crofters is
centred largely on their flocks. Legends and sagas are always present in the
background influencing the choices made
by the crofters, and the ability to compose and recite poetry is a skill which
is greatly admired.
The sparsity of good food,
lack of opportunities for education, disease and premature death, and the
interminable heavy work load drive this novel and the reader cannot help being
moved by the desperate state of these people.
Though I found the novel hard
going at times, it is peppered with beautiful passages of description which
lift the reader out of the gloom.
I would certainly recommend
this to anyone interested in historic Iceland . I have a much greater
understanding of the stoicism of these people as a result of reading this
novel.
The author won the Nobel Prize
for Literature for this work in 1955 and he is one of Iceland’s most revered
authors. He died in 1998.
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