Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2012, Blaðsíða 24

So What Are Icelanders
Really Like, Then?
“Dissecting the psyche of a nation is a daunting task. It is
also doomed to failure.” So begins Alda Sigmundsdóttir’s
study of Icelandic stereotypes. She may be trying to guard
against criticism, but one could also submit that since we
are a small, heterogeneous nation, Icelanders lend them-
selves uniquely well to gross generalisations. In fact, the
rest of her book bears this out.
‘The Little Book Of The Icelanders’ deals
with such themes as names, optimism,
conformism, family occasions and the
general irresponsibility and aversion to
rules often on display. It quite rightly
starts with a chapter called “The Inde-
pendence Thing.” Icelanders certainly
like to see themselves as independent
people, and this permeates everything
from the name of our largest political
party and our greatest modern novel to
fast food and TV talk shows. How this
interacts with another apparent trait, the
need to keep up with one another and
conform to expectations, might be the
subject of an entire book of its own.
Although born in Iceland, Alda grew
up in North America, which makes her
well placed to examine the quirks of her
nation. She claims that even though she
speaks her native language fluently, she
still feels like an outsider of sorts. This
phenomenon is addressed directly in a
chapter titled “On Graduation.” The Ice-
landic school system differs from most
countries in that secondary school lasts
from the ages of sixteen to twenty. Most
socializing/partying goes on during this
period, rather than during the university
years as is the norm elsewhere. This is
where people make friends and often
meet spouses. If you miss out on this,
chances are you will never really find
your way in.
An Icelander is always late
Alda’s observations are usually spot-on.
For example, never being able to show
up on time and always leaving major de-
cisions, such as where to go on holiday
or what to have for dinner, until the last
possible moment seem to be a national
characteristic.
This reluctance to make plans may
be exhausting, but it also gives the
country a lot of its dynamism. People are
flexible and a lot actually gets done at
the last minute, which may be one rea-
son why we can recover quickly from
economic collapses and natural disas-
ters. It may also, as Alda says, have to
do with the weather. You never know if
it’s going to rain or shine, so why make
plans for tomorrow?
I find myself disagreeing with Alda’s
description of Icelandic parties, though.
She says these tend to show off the
hosts’ generosity, but that’s not always
the case. Sure, it’s nice to get Elton John
to sing at your birthday bash, but most
parties I’ve been to involve everyone
bringing their own plastic bag filled with
booze, to be kept under the table and
away from other guests. Her description
seems more apt when it comes to wed-
dings, confirmations and major birth-
days than a Saturday night.
What’s wrong with Icelandic men?
Inevitably, the most eye-raising chapters
have to deal with Icelandic courtship
rituals, or lack thereof. She describes
Icelandic men as “renowned for being
hopeless at hitting on women.” There
might not be much finesse involved,
but Icelanders have actually often been
shown to be near the top of the list when
it comes to frequency of sex, so some-
one must be doing something right.
Maybe it’s a matter of adapting. As
Alda’s twenty-year-old daughter says,
she would never consider going on a
date with someone. After all, what if
the guy turned out to be boring? Per-
haps this explains why all “dating” here
takes place in drunken bars. And Alda is
spot on when she describes the natural
course of an Icelandic relationship as:
sex, a movie, kids, moving in, perhaps
marriage. In that order. Whether good or
bad, this rings true.
The only problem with the book is
that despite its perceptiveness, it is
rather lacking in the humour depart-
ment. When the running gag is call-
ing the country “The land of the nice,”
you know you’re in trouble. Occasional
phrases stand out as pure gold, though,
to wit: “Icelanders are the Southern Eu-
ropeans of Northern Europe.” That kind
of says it all.
- VALuR GuNNARSSON
you were born in Iceland, but
have since lived in Canada, the
uk and Europe. Do you feel more
affinity with Iceland or else-
where?
Iceland. Definitely Iceland. Always
did, always will.
The characterisation of Iceland-
ers that comes across in your
book is strong family people
with a dark humour but a great
deal of positivity and a can-do
approach to life. If this is true, do
you think your character resem-
bles the Icelandic character? Or
are you more influenced by your
Canadian or European experi-
ences?
I've been inf luenced by all the
places I've lived, and it's made me into
the person I am. I think we're always
shaped by the places we live. I do feel
Icelandic in many ways, especially to-
day (having acclimatised over the last
eighteen years) but I definitely feel a
very strong sense of being socialised
as a North American. I most certainly
identify with elements of the Icelandic
national character, though—I think my
sense of humour is very Icelandic and
I tend to not take myself too seriously,
which I think is one of the more posi-
tive aspects of the Icelandic character.
But I'm also not "one of them"—I
spent my formative years in Canada,
which shaped me profoundly. For ex-
ample, I am really sensible when it
comes to finances—I always make sure
I can afford stuff I want, and I make
sure I never overdraw my account. This
is very non-Icelandic. Also, even after
all those years in Iceland I am consis-
tently appalled at the Icelanders' poor
manners and deficiencies in the social
graces.
How much do you think the
crash and the events since 2008
were influenced by elements of
the Icelandic character?
I couldn't possibly say HOW MUCH
the aspects of the Icelandic character
inf luenced the meltdown, but I am pos-
itive that to some extent they did. For
example, the Icelandic character is such
a curious mixture of boldness and inse-
curity, and I know that having all these
"Viking raiders" going around abroad
and buying up companies evoked a lot
of pride among common Icelanders.
We were proud because they were
"our people" and were possibly willing
to look the other way or ignore aspects
that might have been slightly dubious
or confusing. Also, they were all so
"f lott" and the Icelanders are suckers
for anything that is "f lott," so we were
willing to suspend our doubts or confu-
sion about how they actually managed
to get that way.
Another facet of this was, of course,
the way these guys conducted them-
selves, which I think was very Icelan-
dic—this boldness, or audacity, just
"going for it" without thinking too
much about how they'd get themselves
out of it, this "þetta reddast" mindset.
But I hasten to add that I'm making
sweeping statements here, and I really
can't speak for anyone's experiences of
the time before the meltdown, save for
my own. And frankly, I don't spend too
much time thinking about it. I spent a
good three years wallowing in the melt-
down and I wound up pretty burnt out.
I think it's essential to learn from the
economic collapse and to bring people
to account, but I also feel it's vital to
focus on happier and more positive
things as well.
How have Icelanders reacted
to reading your book? Are they
happy with how they are por-
trayed, or less than flattered?
Well, I haven't had a lynch mob out-
side my house yet, so I'd like to think
they're OK with it…! No, seriously, one
of the best things about the Icelanders
is their sense of humour and their will-
ingness not to take themselves too seri-
ously, so on the whole I think they've re-
sponded with good humour. They also
love to mirror themselves in the ‘gests
auga’—the "eye of the guest" and this
book definitely allows for that. I'm actu-
ally surprised by the reception the book
has received. I expected it would f ly un-
der the radar, and maybe a few copies
would be sold to tourists. I'm delighted
the Icelanders are responding to it, as
well.
- MARk O'BRIEN
Big People, Little Book
The Grapevine talks Viking raiders, Nordic
humour, and being ‘flott’ with ‘Little Book Of
Icelanders’ author Alda Sigmundsdóttir.
Alda used to blog a lot at www.icelandweatherreport.com. Now she's gone all
web 2.0, blogging occasionally while spending more time on Facebook and Twit-
ter. Man, blogs were fun back in the day. Whatever happened?
A L D A S I G M U N D S D Ó T T I R
A
L
D
A

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G
M
U
N
D
S
D
Ó
T
T
I
R
TH
E LITTLE BO
O
K O
F TH
E IC
ELAN
DERS
50 miniature essays
on the quirks and foibles
of the Icelanders
THE LITTLE BOOK
OF THE
ICELANDERS
The Little Book Of
The Icelanders
By: Alda Sigmundsdóttir
Publisher: Vaka-Helgafell
Cover by: Emilía Ragnarsdóttir
Illustrations by: Megan Herbert
The Book Interview
B O O K I N G S : T E L . : + 3 5 4 5 6 2 2 3 0 0 W W W . L I F E O F W H A L E S . I S
Whale-Watching Tour Duration: 3 hours
The tour includes a stop by Puffin Island 15th May - 20th August
APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV-MAR
08:55 08.55 08:55 08:55 08:55
12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55 12:55
16:55 16:55 16:55
ADULTS: 47€ / 7.500 ISK
CHILDREN: 7-15 22€ / 3.500 ISK
CHILDREN: 0-6 FREE

Other Tours
Puffin Island Tours Duration:1-1,5 hours
15th May - 20th August Every day
10:00 | 12:00 | 14:00
ADULTS: 3.800 ISK• CHILDREN: 1.900 ISK • CHILDREN: 0-6 FREE
Sea Angling and Grill Duration: 3 hours
May - September Every day
17:00
ADULTS: 10.500 ISK • CHILDREN: 5.000 ISK • CHILDREN: 0-6 FREE
24 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 13 — 2012LITERATuRE