Reykjavík Grapevine - jun 2020, Qupperneq 32

32The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 04— 2020
Who Doesn’t Want To Read
About Sperm Banks And
Erotic Sheep?
Welcome to the Grapevine book club, it’s free
Words: Valur Grettisson
Photos: Art Bicnick & Hreinn Gudlaugsson/Wikimedia
LoveStar
By Andri Snær Magnason, 2013
If you are an Icelander and have
already read ‘LoveStar’ by Andri
Snær Magnason, read it again.
The book not only predicted
social media, but also how it
would be utilised for marketing
on a global level, and how it would
eventually disconnect us from
reality. When it was published in
2004, ‘LoveStar’ was supposed to
be science fiction, but nowadays
it’s more science than fiction. Set
largely in the North of Iceland,
Andri’s masterpiece critiques an
Orwellian megacorporation—
which is eerily similar to Face-
book, to be honest. The summer
is the perfect time to read it, we
believe, because with the way
2020 is going, space burials are
probably not too far off. VG
The Blue Blood
By Oddn' Eir Ævarsdóttir, 2015
An autobiographical novella avail-
able on Kindle, ‘The Blue Blood’
charts the author’s journey as she
attempts to become pregnant, via
various means. Oddny’s search
takes her from the corridors of a
sperm bank, to a market in South
America, to a cave under Eyjafjal-
lajökull; along the way she muses
on subjects like masculinity, Na-
zism, bohemianism, mythology
and history. ‘The Blue Blood’ is full
of vivid moments, and captures the
turbulent joy, seriousness, sadness
and absurdity of personhood. JR
Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was
By Sjón, 2013
Sjón’s book ‘Moonstone: The Boy
Who Never Was’ is set in 1918 and
explores the dramatic moment
when Iceland declared indepen-
dence from Denmark, which cor-
responded with the introduction
of cinema to Reykjavík, the erup-
tion of Katla and the deadly Span-
ish flu epidemic. What a time! The
plot revolves around a young gay
man who is obsessed with cinema
during these catastrophic years.
There’s forbidden love, imagina-
tive escapism and the horrific real-
ity of a viral pandemic taking over.
Sjón possesses a magical realism
that dabbles in steampunk, and
the book is a short read so expect
to throw the novel out the window
of your car in anger after the last
page before calling Sjón and de-
manding more information. But
don’t despair—you can just pick up
Sjón’s ‘Codex 1962’ next. VG
Reply to a Letter From Helga
By Bergsveinn Birgisson, 2010
Bergsveinn Birgisson’s novel is one
of those rare ones that’ll make you
love your partner a little bit more.
It’s a well-written saga about an
old sheep farmer’s regrets when it
comes to love. The story is incred-
ibly modern and honest when it
comes to the human experience
and the terrible regret about love
lost. Plus, it also contains some of
the best sex scenes ever written in
Icelandic. It’s almost mandatory
to read this book in the country-
side, under the cacophony of a run-
ning stream, a golden plover, and
a distant, perhaps after reading,
weirdly erotic, bleat. VG
Someone To Watch Over Me
By Yrsa Sigur#ardóttir, 2009
So, you want some mystery and
thrill? We got you. The best way
to enjoy the Icelandic psyche is to
slip into the head of the country’s
crime queen, Yrsa Sigur!ardóttir.
She is one of the most successful
crime writers in Iceland and has
sold millions of copies of her books
around the world. But here is the
Grapevine’s pro-tip when it comes
to Yrsa: She’s most in her element
when she combines ghost horror
with crime, so if you need some-
thing to read in the dark, ‘Someone
To Watch Over Me’ is both horrify-
ing as well as a slick mystery. The
first pages of the book will freak
you out, but keep reading. You
won’t regret it. VG
Books
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