We returned from our trip to Iceland with two souvenirs: a small Icelandic flag we planted amid our geraniums, and a novel that’s the best I’ve read in the last eight years.
Thanks, Malachy. I'd add Ivo Andric to the list of unknown-over-here novelists who are truly great; his "The Bridge on the Drina" is in my top ten list...Reading Andric, Laxness, or Vassily Grossman, you realize how shallow a talent their contemporary, Hemingway, really was; he couldn't carry their typewriters....
I’m so glad you discovered his work, Walter. It’s such a pleasure to find a writer you’ve somehow missed and yet whose books, it turns out, are exactly what you didn’t realise you needed. I’ve read and loved a couple of Laxness’s novels and you’ve reminded me I ought to read more of them.
I sent replies to all the comments I got, but may have screwed up in doing so, which isn't a surprise given my computer clumsiness....Thanks, Malachy! As an islander yourself, from one of the lonely, forgotten places in the world, I'm sure you have a special insight into Laxness's world, and there is definitely some influence , some echo, going on in your latest novel. Haldor would be proud.
I couldn't agree more with your excellent points, Jennifer. While maybe novels are best for entering. mind and heart, music is best for penetrating the soul; no wonder they call it "soul music" but you never hear about "soul prose"!...Probably the best way to get into the Laxness world is to start with "The Fish Can Sing" (talk about perfect titles for you and Ray!), the hero of which is a talented Icelandic singer trying to start a career...Speaking of which. I hope you and all my other subscribers are listening to Springsteen's new "Streets of Minneapolis!" Thanks again!
I thought of you, Maestro, when I read Laxness's observation about everyone a poet when young, no so many when old! How rare it is that a gift lasts that long...I'm interested in Laxness re a little book I'm trying to put together about writers in old age, a subject I'm learning more about every birthday....Resist!
I agree: "proving that novels were—and maybe still are—the best means ever invented for entering the heart, mind, and soul of another human being." Of course I think all the arts can have the same ability, but there's something about stories that move me the most. I've had to slam books shut, just to think, when an author has written something I've never thought of, never knew how to express, or never considered from a different angle.
I'll look for the works of Laxness. It sounds like much of his writing matches the starkness of much of Iceland.
Thanks, Jennifer, and apologies if you already got my response, but I seem to be having trouble with the comment part of this...I think the Laxness to try first might be "The Fish Can Sing," with that intriguing title--only Iceland would have singing fish! It's about a talented singer growing up in Iceland, falling in love, overcoming all kinds of obstacles, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks, Malachy. I'd add Ivo Andric to the list of unknown-over-here novelists who are truly great; his "The Bridge on the Drina" is in my top ten list...Reading Andric, Laxness, or Vassily Grossman, you realize how shallow a talent their contemporary, Hemingway, really was; he couldn't carry their typewriters....
I’m so glad you discovered his work, Walter. It’s such a pleasure to find a writer you’ve somehow missed and yet whose books, it turns out, are exactly what you didn’t realise you needed. I’ve read and loved a couple of Laxness’s novels and you’ve reminded me I ought to read more of them.
I sent replies to all the comments I got, but may have screwed up in doing so, which isn't a surprise given my computer clumsiness....Thanks, Malachy! As an islander yourself, from one of the lonely, forgotten places in the world, I'm sure you have a special insight into Laxness's world, and there is definitely some influence , some echo, going on in your latest novel. Haldor would be proud.
I couldn't agree more with your excellent points, Jennifer. While maybe novels are best for entering. mind and heart, music is best for penetrating the soul; no wonder they call it "soul music" but you never hear about "soul prose"!...Probably the best way to get into the Laxness world is to start with "The Fish Can Sing" (talk about perfect titles for you and Ray!), the hero of which is a talented Icelandic singer trying to start a career...Speaking of which. I hope you and all my other subscribers are listening to Springsteen's new "Streets of Minneapolis!" Thanks again!
I thought of you, Maestro, when I read Laxness's observation about everyone a poet when young, no so many when old! How rare it is that a gift lasts that long...I'm interested in Laxness re a little book I'm trying to put together about writers in old age, a subject I'm learning more about every birthday....Resist!
Amen on all counts, Walter! It took me a while to get into IP, but whqat a ride after!
Syd--
I may have screwed up in the comments this time, but did want to thank you Maestro, for being there, not just for me, but for so many of us.
Thank you, Walter. I'm honored and humbled, both
I agree: "proving that novels were—and maybe still are—the best means ever invented for entering the heart, mind, and soul of another human being." Of course I think all the arts can have the same ability, but there's something about stories that move me the most. I've had to slam books shut, just to think, when an author has written something I've never thought of, never knew how to express, or never considered from a different angle.
I'll look for the works of Laxness. It sounds like much of his writing matches the starkness of much of Iceland.
Thanks, Jennifer, and apologies if you already got my response, but I seem to be having trouble with the comment part of this...I think the Laxness to try first might be "The Fish Can Sing," with that intriguing title--only Iceland would have singing fish! It's about a talented singer growing up in Iceland, falling in love, overcoming all kinds of obstacles, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.