Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.04.2017, Blaðsíða 44

Books 44The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 05 — 2017
‘Land of Love and
Ruins’ by Oddný Eir
A book review
Words: John Rogers Photo: Art Bicnick
Oddný Eir’s ‘Land of Love and
Ruins’ has been translated into
English and published by Restless
Books, after winning the Icelandic
Women’s Literature Prize and the EU
Prize For Literature.
The 240-page book is an intrigu-
ing mashup of literary styles, pre-
sented as chapters timestamped
by religious festivals, special occa-
sions, phases of the moon, and the
place of writing. Together, they
form a flow of consciousness that
dances between autobiography,
diary, and personal philosophy.
Along the way, Oddný muses on
subjects that are disparate-seem-
ing, and yet become wholly in-
terconnected as she draws deft
lines between friendships, love
relationships and familial bonds,
politics and economics, and ideas
about genealogy, society, commu-
nity, history and travel. By doing
so in such an uninhibited fash-
ion, ‘Land of Love and Ruins’ ul-
timately forms an intimate trea-
tise on the nature of being itself.
We’re taken from the rooms of
Reykjavík, to the rural settlements
of Iceland, to the streets, homes
and hotels of Paris, Strasbourg,
Basel and London, and the villages
and forests of Cumbria. Oddný
confides in us as she travels, her
mind wandering and whirring
as she intertwines this physical
journey with her internal one. We
learn of her hopes, doubts, fears
and dreams; her far-reaching
curiosities, her difficulty recon-
ciling a deep desire for intimacy
with an urgent need for personal
space, and her instinct to connect
with her Icelandic roots whilst
embracing the wider world in an
expansive, exploratory fashion.
The intimacy of the book is
one of its greatest strengths.
Oddný doesn’t pull her punches,
even when they’re directed at
her own habits and instincts.
Her willingness to reveal her in-
nermost thoughts lends a rare
level of integrity to her writing,
and helps to form an empathic
bond between reader and author.
The book also acts as a snap-
shot of Icelandic culture. When
Oddný discusses the relationship
between industry, environmen-
talism and the state, she reveals
an internal conversation that’s
ongoing in Iceland to this day.
‘Land of Love and Ruins’ explains
better than anything I’ve read
the battle for the soul of the na-
tion, played out via kitchen table
conversations that culminate
in shared ideals, increased par-
ticipation in the political pro-
cess and straight-up activism.
Since finishing ‘Land of Love
and Ruins’, I must have bought five
or more copies as presents for peo-
ple, and will no doubt buy many
more. It’s a work that deserves
to be enjoyed, remembered, and
looked back upon in times to come.
SHARE: gpv.is/oe05
Two Books
The Greenhouse & On The Cold Coasts
Words: Björn Halldórsson
Each issue, we take a look at two
Icelandic titles old and new, avail-
able in English translation at most
Reykjavík bookstores. If you’d like
more ideas, or to read more on
Icelandic literature, head over
to gpv.is/lit for in-depth author
interviews, guides, and more
book reviews.
Guðbergur Bergsson –
The Swan
In his 1991 classic ‘The Swan’, Guð-
bergur Bergsson immerses him-
self in the perspective of a child—
a nine-year-old girl sent to live at
a farm as punishment for shop-
lifting. The girl is still develop-
ing her physical senses as well as
her sense of morality and being,
which is reflected in the novel's
sparse yet lyrical language. Cast
adrift from all familiar surround-
ings, she tries to use her meagre
tools of perception to understand
her own actions as well as those
of the unresponsive adults that
surround her, finally choosing to
retreat into myth and imagina-
tion instead. This slim novel is a
rewarding read that, according to
Milan Kundera, “breathes the Ice-
landic landscape from every line.”
A new Icelandic film based on the
novel is due to be released in 2017.
Kristín Ómarsdóttir –
Children in Reindeer
Woods
With its lyricism, detached narra-
tion and mystifying war-zone set-
ting, this fable on the absurdities
of war bears witness to Kristín’s
extensive career as both a poet and
a playwright. After a dispassionate
massacre that claims the lives of ev-
eryone around her, an eleven-year-
old girl named Billie is forced to live
as a daughter to one of the soldiers
responsible. He claims to want
to swap his life of soldiering for a
peaceful existence as a farmer and
wants her to accompany him in this
idyllic pursuit, even forcing her at
gunpoint to play with her dolls like
a normal child despite their abnor-
mal situation. Gradually he starts
to take on the role of her guardian,
displacing her absent parents and
creating a true sense of family and
home for the two of them, though
he still must occasionally resort to
murder to reinforce their isolation.
SHARE: gpv.is/2b05
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