Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.05.2018, Page 42

Books 42The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 08 — 2018
Trapped In A
Narrative
New book on the Guðmundur and Geirfinnur
case released in the UK
Words: Björn Halldórsson Photo: Sam Finney
For most Icelanders, the names
Guðmundur and Geirfinnur have
immediate connotations. In Janu-
ary and November of 1974, these
two seemingly unconnected men
vanished without a trace in and
around Reykjavík, leading to specu-
lation and paranoia in the com-
munity that eventually lead to a
notorious murder investigation
and the conviction of six people.
Last year, a documentary on
this haunting case, ‘Out of Thin
Air,’ was released by the BBC and
Netflix. Thus, the wider world was
made aware of the bizarre case,
and the tragic history of the six
young people whose lives were
so irrevocably altered when they
signed confessions to the mur-
ders, after months of solitary
confinement and interrogation.
A fascination that
turned into an
obsession
In March, a new book on the case
was released by London-based
journalist Anthony Adeane—one
of the documentary’s major con-
tributors. In the book, which bears
the same title as the documentary,
Anthony lays out the history of the
case as well as the unique societal
circumstances surrounding what
has been called the greatest miscar-
riage of justice in Icelandic history.
Anthony first became aware
of the case through a BBC Radio 4
programme and was immediately
fascinated. “I couldn’t stop thinking
about it,” he reminisces. “I read ev-
erything I could find about the case
in English—which was very little at
that point. I was mainly fascinated
by how the psychology of those in-
volved ended up being mapped by
this vast, complex criminal case,
but the more I dug into it the more
I became drawn to the story of how
the suspects and their families
have persisted in their attempts
to overturn a historic injustice.”
Avoiding a single
narrative
After pitching the documentary
to a London production
company, Anthony ended
up working on the film
for 3 years, travelling
to Iceland to gather
information and inter-
view those involved.
His interviews with
the suspects, in-
vestigators, and
other relevant
parties make up
a large part of
his narrative.
G e t t i n g
the interview
subjects to
talk about
the events of the
much-disputed case was
challenging. “I approached each
interview as a learning experience,”
Anthony explains. “We tried to
speak to as many people as pos-
sible so that we did not make the
same mistake as the investigators
and get trapped in one narrative. I
also made sure to ask a broad array
of questions so that I could build up
as many details and corroborating
stories as possible. It was important
to be wary of the different agendas
people might have. Despite thou-
sands of pages of court documents,
there are very few facts, and so peo-
ple’s prejudices can end up being
the basis for their recollections.”
Paranoia and public
outcry
A major strength of
the book is in how An-
thony sets the scene
of Iceland’s society of
the time, in a way that
might be cumbersome within the
documentary format. At the time,
the mere idea of premeditated mur-
ders in Iceland seemed ridiculous,
which accounts for some of the
shock that the community expe-
rienced. However, one can only
assume that the 70s zeitgeist—a
fear of lingering modernity, and
the corruption of youth—played a
role in the societal backlash that
the young suspects experienced.
Anthony points out that, as
in other parts of the world, there
was a somewhat illogical concern
about drugs at the time, which was
fueled by media coverage and the
establishment of a specialist police
drug unit. “All of this played a big
role in how people responded to
these kids,” Anthony says. “People
thought that these kids must
have done it because
of the general
whiff of crimi-
nality that sur-
rounded them,
due to their in-
volvement in the
Reyk jav í k d r ug
scene. And once this
conglomerate ma-
chine of parliament,
media, police and
public outcry was put
into motion, there was
no stopping it. It was just
a matter of time before
someone got ground into
dust, which ended up being
a vulnerable young mother
and her ex-boyfriend, who the po-
lice had previous dealings with.”
The advantages of
being an outsider
Stepping into an insular com-
munity like Iceland and asking
questions about events that have
haunted the national psyche for
so long is a daunting task, but
Anthony also discovered some
advantage in his outsider stature.
“A lot of the people we inter-
viewed for the documentary said
that they felt more comfortable
talking to people who weren’t
from Iceland,” he finishes. “They
knew we wouldn’t have the same
prejudices or biases as people
who’d been famil-
iar with the case for
decades. We always
had Icelanders help-
ing us to navigate
the story, but when many people
have grown up with fixed ideas
about what happened, coming
in as an outsider can give you a
fresh perspective.”
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Anthony Adeane, confessing
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