Lögberg-Heimskringla - 23.09.2005, Blaðsíða 12

12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 23 September 2005
No betrayal
Saga
by Jeff Janoda
Academy Chicago Pubiishers,
359 pages
$26.50 US / $38.95 CDN
Reviewed by
Perry Grosshans
Like one of the goðar, Jeff
Janoda uses wisdom and craft-
iness to draw readers into the
bloody feuds and intrigue of
medieval Iceland.
Janoda’s new novel Saga
deals with the feud between
Snorri and Amkel, two go-
thar (goðar, chieftain/priests
of early Iceland) who use their
influence, charisma, and cun-
ning to sway their Thingmen
(followers), and sometimes
other gothar, each trying to
conquer the other. At the heart
of their political struggle is the
struggle of restraint; the deci-
sion to solve disputes through
wealth rather than blood, and
still retain honour.
Arnkel gothi tricks Ulfar
Freedman into giving his lands
ío him and become his Thing-
man, lands which technically
belong to Thorbrand, a Thing-
man of Snorri gothi. Thorulf
Lamefoot, father of Amkel,
feeling dishonoured by his
son, trades away his own valu-
able lands to Snorri gothi to
spite Arnkel, and thus the dis-
pute quickly becomes a feud
between the two gothar. When
the democratic decision of the
annual Thorsnes Thing doesn’t
Leave It To Beaver
was never like this
Dark, funny show puts a
new spin on family night
Candy From a Baby
by Debbie Patterson
Reviewed by
Marc Horton
If David Mamet ever
wrote a script for Leave It To
Beaver, the result would be
this very, very dark and very,
very funny, uh, family night
at the Fringe.
And it is a family pro-
duction indeed. Written and
directed by Debbie Pátter-
son, it stars her husband Arne
MacPherson as ex-con dad
Warren; daughter Gislina Pat-
terson as Gloria, a cynical and
much-too-wise II-year-old
on the mn from an orphanage
run by “Jesus lady”; and GIo-
ria’s mute, but very winning,
brother named Skunk, played
by Solmund MacPherson.
Warren’s just been re-
leased from the pen after
doing eight long years on a
robbery, and he's busted and
broke. He’s after the pro-
ceeds of that long-ago rob-
bery when he’s tempted into
playing a part in a drug-pick-
up-and-payoff that might net
him as much as 20 Gs.
The risks are too great for
a new parolee, so he decides
to send Gloria on the drug
deal that will provide that
much-needed dough.
That’s the story, briefly,
but not completely.
What powers the play are
a trio of fine performances and
the decidedly unconventional
and completely unsentimen-
tal relationship that slowly
develops over the course of
the evening between dad and
kids, including a small but
brilliant gem of a scene where
Warren reads Dr. Seiiss’s Hop
on Pop to Skunk.
And there is a bit of stage
business between Warren and
Skunk that involves a gun, a
bullet and a punch in the face
that’s breathtakingly shock-
ing and, yet, absolutely hi-
larious.
Memorable, hard-edged
stuff.
Reprinted with permis-
sion from The Edmonton
Journal.
show & sale
exhiBit es
September 24 - December 21, 2005
NEW ICELAND
HERITAGE MUSEUM
94-lst Avenue,
Gimli, MB
AN EXHIBIT OF
ORIGINAL ART
QUILTS INSPIRED BY
MEDIEVAL ILLUMINATED
MANUSCRIPTS
642-4001
www.nihm.ca
Quilt Artist ~ Heather Lair
in retelling of old saga
solve the problems, the feud
becomes a bloody one.
Janoda writes Saga like
a true Norse story, filling it
with a multitude of characters.
Sometimes there are so many,
with such similar names, that
one often needs to reread the
glossary of characters in the
beginning, which proves an
invaluable asset. But all of
the characters, be they gothar,
Thingmen or women, struggle
with Saga’s central theme of
restraint. The novel emerges
as a story with a great depth of
character emotion.
Like the old sagas, there
is a wealth of historical data,
and Janoda’s knowledge about
the life of the medieval Norse
culture is sound. But Janoda
doesn’t bog the reader down
with useless trivia. The details
of daily life and major events
such as the Thorsnes Thing
enrich the story.
Saga is actually based
on Eyrbyggja Saga (Saga of
the People of Eyri), which is
said to be one of the finest of
the family sagas of Iceland,
written down around the 13th
century. Janoda explores a
portion of this medieval saga
(specifically chapters 30 - 38),
and breathes into it a fiery and
emotional life in its retelling.
Janoda remains fairly true
to the historical events in the
original Eyrbyggja Saga, al-
though he himself admits he
has taken certain literary liber-
ties to facilitate the storyline,
particularly when it comes to
character insights, emotions
and intemal personal strug-
gles. Those liberties are what
make Saga stand out.
Those familiar with Eyr-
byggje Saga will notice that
some of the dialogue in Jano-
da’s Saga is very close to the
original, such as when Snorri
gothi presents Thorleif, the
eldest son of Thorbrand, with
a good long-handled axe as a
gesture that he is finally ready
to deal with Arnkel gothi (cf.
Eyrbyggja Saga, chapter 37).
In this way, Janoda does not
just base his story on the saga,
but tmly embraces it. It gives
Saga real weight and mean-
ing.
Saga is definitely worth
reading, both for those inter-
ested in the events of Eyrbyg-
gja Saga, and for those who
just want a well-written story.
Borgford co-author of
new book on worship
Doreen Borgfjord McFar-
lane is coauthor of a new book
published by Mercer University
Press in Macon, GA, titled The
People are Holy: the History
and Theology of Free Church
Worship. It is McFarlane’s first
book.
The People are Holy, co-
authored by Graydon Snyder,
describes the characteristics
of early church worship, then
traces how those qualities and
practices are realized in the
Free Churches.
McFarlane, who is the
daughter of the late Gudni Ed-
ward Borgfjord and the late
Minnist
Remember
BETEL
í ERFÐASKRÁM YÐAR
Please send Donations to:
Betel Home Foundation
Box lo
96 l st Avenue
Gimli, MB ROC ÍBO
Doreen Borgfjord McFarlane
Marion Jean Borgfjord of Win-
nipeg, sang with the Canadian
Opera Company for many
years. She holds numerous de-
grees in religious studies, most
recently a Ph.D. in Bible from
the Chicago Theological Semi-
nary (1998). She currently lives
in West Hartford, Connecticut,
where she is pastor of the Flagg
Road United Church of Christ
and adjunct professor of Greek
at the Hartford Seminary.
The People are Holy: the
History and Theology of Free
Church Worship will be avail-
able in November.
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca