Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.12.2014, Blaðsíða 32

FOOD
Go Read A
Book!
Hallgrímur Helgason
Award winning author, painter, poet
and social critic. Best known for the
generation-defining ‘101 Reykjavík’.
‘Butterflies In November’
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
This was just released in the States.
A charming tale, a rainy road trip.
‘Moonstone’
Sjón
Atmospheric and gay!
Steinar Bragi
Widely considered one of Iceland’s
foremost contemporary authors. His
latest novel, ‘Kata’, is currently mak-
ing waves in Iceland. Seek out the
English translation of ‘Women’.
‘Blue Fox’
Sjón
A great writer, beautifully translat-
ed by Cribb.
‘Reply to a Letter from Helga’
Bergsveinn Birgisson
A rather clumsy title in English, but
a great novel on love and bestial-
ity. I recommend it even though it’s
published by Amazon Crossing, but
please, let this be the last coin you
put into the black void of BEZOS.
‘The Ship’
Stefán Máni
An epic book on evil and seafaring,
at times so male that it veers into
gay erotica, beautifully.
‘Children In Reindeer Woods’
Kristín Ómarsdóttir
Lyrical in the best sense of the
word, playful, profound and humor-
ous. Do it.
‘The Creator’
Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir.
A gripping meditation on dolls and
what it means to play with them and
make babies with them.
Jónína Leósdóttir
Celebrated author and playwright. Her
most recent book, ‘Við Jóhanna’ (“Jóhan-
na And I”), details her relationship with her
wife (and former Icelandic PM) Jóhanna
Sigurðardóttir, and will reportedly be avail-
able in English sooner rather than later.
I think there should be a law that says
everyone must get a book for Christmas. It
doesn’t have to be a hard-back, brand new
or expensive. There are plenty of good,
older books to choose from.
'Independent People'
Halldór K. Laxness
Books by our Nobel laureate are an
absolute must for anyone who wants to
acquaint themselves with Icelandic lit-
erature—and this novel is a great start-
ing point.
'The Little Book of the Icelanders'
Alda Sigmundsdóttir.
A humorous look at Icelandic society
and all our strange quirks—like babies
sleeping outside in winter—in fifty min-
iature essays.
Any crime thriller by
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
or Arnaldur Indriðason
Both Yrsa and Arnaldur are excellent
crime writers and, for those unfamiliar
with their works, just close your eyes,
reach out and buy the first one you
touch.
'Flowers on the Roof'
Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir
and Brian Pilkington
A perfect gift for young children, a fun
story and fantastic pictures.
'Does anyone actually eat this?'
Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir
A hilarious account of traditional Icelan-
dic food, like sheep’s heads and rams’
testicles, by our best-known food writer.
But no recipes, you’ll be glad to hear.
Sjón
One of Iceland’s most successful and re-
spected contemporary authors. Seek out
‘Moonstone’ (as recommended by his
peers on this very page), also, go to the
previous spread to read our interview with
him.
'Silence of the Grave'
Arnaldur Indriðason
This is Arnaldur’s masterpiece of the
Erlendur cycle of novels. The author's
own sense of justice, bordering on rage
against the exploiters of the weak in so-
ciety, is wonderfully channelled through
his life-weary but diligent detective.
While this novel about domestic vio-
lence depicts contemporary Reykjavík
in a sure way, it is Arnaldur’s evocation
of the city in the 40s, during the Brits’
friendly occupation, that shines and
should bring out envy in all of his self-
respecting (or is it self-doubting?) col-
leagues.
'The Fish Can Sing'
Halldór Laxness
A funny, intelligent and moving novel
about an orphan raised by two old peo-
ple in Brekkukot, a fisherman’s cot at
the south-west end of Tjörnin in Reyk-
javík. Young Álfgrímur—for that is the
orphan’s name, bestowed upon him by
his mother as the only thing she gives
him before leaving him for good—is dis-
covered to have a voice so lucid that he
can reach “the pure note” needed to la-
ment the dead and console the living at
funerals, where he practices his art. His
counterpart is Garðar Hólm, an Icelan-
dic singer whose fame abroad is end-
lessly recounted in the newspapers of
Reykjavík, where no one has ever heard
him sing. But living among the misfits
and outcasts that are also sheltered in
Brekkukot provides a lesson that he
takes with him when he also leaves
Reykjavík to sing for the big world.
'Gaga'
Ólafur Gunnarsson
A brilliant novella about a meek man
who immerses himself in Edgar Rice
Burroughs’s pioneering sci-fi novels
about John Carter’s adventures on the
planet Mars. He reads them to the point
of waking up in the Martian capital. The
city is cleverly disguised as Reykjavík
by its freakish inhabitants. And things
start going wrong, horribly wrong. This
slender book with its nod to the great
Quixote is one of my favourite Reykjavík
novels.
Photo
Natsha Nandabhiwat
Compiled
Gabríel Benjamin
Some of our favourite local writers recommend
some of their favourite local books (that are
available in English) for your benefit!
All you need
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Tel: +354 552 5700
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closed Sundays and Mondays
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5 course dinner menu
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32 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 18 — 2014LITERATURE