Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.01.2018, Síða 42

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42The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 01 — 2018
Icelandic Alt-History
A new novel explores the fantasy of a Nazi-
occupied Iceland
Words: Björn Halldórsson Photo: Art Bicnick
The tapestry of Icelandic writing
in the 21st century is an ever ex-
panding one. This is largely be-
cause although most Icelanders
read English-language novels of all
varieties, the Western world's pro-
clivity for literary subgenres has
come late to Icelandic publishing.
Still, one has only to look at the
success of Icelandic crime fiction—
a relatively sparse genre until the
turn of the millennium—to see
how swiftly the tide can change.
New genres always require literary
daredevils willing to break from
tradition and brave the scorn of
local lit snobs. One such author
is Valur Gunnarsson, who's alter-
native-historical novel ‘Örninn
og Fálkinn,’ (‘The Eagle and the
Falcon’), offers the reader an in-
sight into a fantasy WWII-era Ice-
land under German occupation.
Divergence point
Although most all fiction can be
viewed as a way of revamping re-
ality, alternative fiction authors
have a unique challenge before
them. They need to create a sepa-
rate historical dimension that
abides by the rules of our own
world. As such they must rely on
a thorough knowledge of history.
“The book's divergence point
from our own history takes place
in Norway on April 9th, 1940,”
Valur explains. “In the history that
we know, the Commander of the
Oscarsborg Fortress, which safe-
guarded the Oslo fjord, didn't await
orders before sinking the German
flagship Blücher, delaying the oc-
cupation of Oslo by a precious few
hours. In the novel, he doesn't take
this initiative, leading to the sur-
render of Norway. This enables the
Germans to move on to Iceland with
an intact fleet, beating the British
invasion of the country in May of
the same year. It’s a good example
of a butterfly effect that changes
everything that comes after.”
A protagonist in the
family
To set the scene for Reykjavík of
the 1940s, Valur makes use of many
prominent Icelanders of the time,
but he also chose a spectre from
his own family tree to act as the
reader's guide in this strange land.
“The main protagonist is my grand-
mother’s older brother, Sigurður,”
he explains. “He died in the Spanish
influenza epidemic of 1918, when
he was only a boy. In the novel, he
survives, and is 26 at the time of the
invasion. According to family lore,
his parents would never have had
another child if not for his death. In
that case, my grandmother would
never have been born, so this is a
world without me,” Valur laughs.
“I thought that was kind of neat.”
The Icelandic Nazis
In a similar way, many roles in the
novel are played by known Icelandic
Nazi sympathisers, who were quite
prevalent politically in the tumul-
tuous time leading up to WWII.
“The most renowned of the Icelan-
dic Nazis was probably Gísli Sigur-
björnsson,” Valur says. “He actu-
ally later became a well-respected
man in the community, and was
the administrator of a nursing
home in Reykjavík. Naturally, his
life takes a very different turn in
the book. In real life, the Icelan-
dic Nazi Party disbanded at the
onset of WWII, with most of the
members joining the Indepen-
dence Party to try and change it
from within. Whether they were
successful is for you to decide.”
Get Your Read On
Recommended Icelandic books in English
Words: Björn Halldórsson
Each issue, we take a look at two
Icelandic titles old and new, avail-
able in English at most Reyk-
javík 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.
Snare – Lilja Sigurðardóttir
Sonja's life is in tatters. Losing cus-
tody of her son after her husband
catches her in bed with a woman,
Sonja makes desperate attempts to
get him, driving her to some dark
places. Soon, she is smuggling
drugs through Keflavík Airport,
collaborating with vicious thugs
who have no intention of freeing
her until she’s outlived her useful-
ness. There’s little help to be had
from her unstable lover Agla, who
has retreated to the bottom of a
bottle, as well as the impending in-
vestigation that’s set to reveal her
role in destabilising the Icelandic
economy. However, when Sonja's
frequent trips through the airport
catch the attention of customs of-
ficer Bragi, who has little left to live
for except his job and visits to his Al-
zheimer’s-demented wife, a danger-
ous game is set off, in which Sonja
is forced to let the chips fall where
they may to save those dearest to
her. Set during the post-crash years,
Lilja's first book to appear in Eng-
lish is a layered crime thriller filled
with deeply conflicted characters.
Whiteout – Ragnar
Jónasson
When Ásta returns to Kálfhamars-
vík, a remote settlement in the north
of Iceland, none of the few remain-
ing inhabitants know quite what
to make of her arrival. Why would
she come back to the place where
her mother and sister met their
tragic demise twenty five years ear-
lier? When her body is found on the
same rocks as those of her mother
and sister all that time ago, most as-
sume that the return was too much
for Ásta. However, a local policeman
investigating her death is reminded
of many things that he found unset-
tling about the previous tragedies,
and so he asks for assistance from
an old colleague: Ari Thor, the Si-
glufjörður policeman from Ragnar
Jónasson's Dark Iceland series. The
isolated settlements on Iceland's
northern coast, filled with tight-
lipped inhabitants who safeguard
each other's secrets, provide the
perfect setting for Ragnar's unique
fusion of Nordic Noir and tradi-
tional British murder mystery.
gpv.is/lit
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Valur Gunnarsson