Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.06.2017, Page 50

Books 50The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 09 — 2017
Behind the
Language Barrier
Alda Sigmundsdóttir gives tourists the straight dope
Words: Björn Halldórsson Portrait: Kristín Ósk Ingvarsdóttir
Alda Sigmundsdóttir's Little Book
series has set out to educate the
wider world about the idiosyncra-
sies of Icelandic culture, history
and language. But in the fifth vol-
ume, published this month, the ta-
bles are turned. Rather than look-
ing at Icelanders it is the visitors
to the island who are put under
the microscope. “The gap between
those two groups has been widen-
ing over the past few years, in tan-
dem with rising tourist numbers,”
Alda says, giving her rationale for
the new book, ‘The Little Book of
Tourists in Iceland’. “Among the
Icelanders there is a growing dis-
satisfaction with tourists and
their various forms of conduct,
conduct which the tourists them-
selves are often completely oblivi-
ous to. On the other hand, I know
that many tourists are concerned
about the impact of tourism on
Iceland, and want to understand
how it is affecting the Icelandic
people and their envi-
ronment. They are keen
to know how they can
be responsible tourists
and travel in a way that
is respectful and unob-
trusive, but aren’t quite
sure how. I hope this
book will help to fill
in the gap somewhat.”
In preparing for the
book, Alda made use
of the vast number of
subscribers to her monthly news-
letter, asking them to supply her
with specific questions about
tourism as it relates to Iceland.
“I received over 300 responses!”
she exclaims. “Reading them
over I became aware of how many
people genuinely love and care
about the country, and are deeply
concerned about tourism and
the impact it is having. In many
respects people outside Iceland
are more concerned than the Ice-
landers are. Perhaps because they
can see what is happening more
objectively than we can. In many
cases, they have experienced mass
tourism in their own countries
and know the impact it can have.”
In the book Alda also addresses
issues regarding local government
and infrastructure and other on-
going debates within Icelandic so-
ciety. “I thought it was important
to present the local perspective,”
she says. “The issues I write about
in the book are ones that repeat-
edly come up with people I talk to.
Of course, most outsiders are not
privy to the debates over these is-
sues that are endlessly taking place
within Iceland because it goes on
behind the language barrier. I want-
ed to help break down that barrier.”
Alda has made it her mission to
dispel much of the rampant misin-
formation about Iceland currently
circulating around the internet.
“The spiel about how Iceland re-
fused to bail out the banks, jailed
all the corrupt bankers and politi-
cians and forgave everyone’s debts
is particularly infu-
riating,” she rages.
“That, and the elf
belief. The incest
app one is also an-
noying, but the other
two are worse.” She
admits that this is
more of a personal
agenda than the is-
sues she addresses
in her books. “Maybe
it isn’t important at
all." She laughs. "It’s just that I have
this annoying compulsion to tell the
truth. It might actually be far better
if I just kept my mouth shut and let
everyone keep their illusions.”
Get Your Read On
Steinar Bragi & Njáls Saga
Words: Björn Halldórsson
Each issue, we take a look at
two Icelandic titles old and new,
available 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 au-
thor interviews, guides, and more
book reviews.
Steinar Bragi – The Ice
Lands
In ‘The Ice Lands’, Steinar Bragi is
on familiar ground, playing with
tropes of the horror genre to ad-
dress deep-seated psychological is-
sues found in today’s culture. Two
young couples set out for the Ice-
landic countryside in hopes of es-
caping the troubles of city life. The
four of them are plagued in various
ways by the recent economic crash,
which has left them on unsure foot-
ing whereas before their futures
had seemed bright and secure. Dur-
ing a storm, their jeep crashes into
a dilapidated farmhouse and the
foursome must seek shelter with
the occupants, an uncommunica-
tive elderly couple who bar them-
selves in at night and are fearful
of something in the howling wind
outside. Outwardly, the story leads
itself into a familiar horror nar-
rative, but the tensions are more
internal, as conveyed through the
shifting perspective of the rotating
protagonists. Gradually, the four of
them descend into chaos and mad-
ness as layers of their past and be-
ing are unraveled during their ab-
surd and terrifying tribulations.
Njál's Saga
If you want to take the plunge into
Icelandic cultural heritage, look
no further than Njál's Saga, the
quintessential Icelandic saga. The
story outlines a feud between two
families that spans decades, es-
calating from minor slights into
defamations of honour that lead to
outbreaks of violence and murder.
What is so striking about the story
is how relatable it is to our mod-
ern tendencies: the power dynam-
ics between men and women and
the troubling closeness of vulner-
able masculinity and violence. The
people in the stories are not gods
or mythical beings but everyday
folk navigating a world of rigid so-
cial rules where every infraction
can have dire consequences. Deliv-
ered in a terse, clipped style which
one might blasphemously call
“Hemingway-esque,” Njál's Saga is
one of the most readable page-turn-
ers to come out of the 13th century.
gpv.is/lit
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"People
are deeply
concerned
about the
impact of
tourism."