Reykjavík Grapevine - okt. 2020, Blaðsíða 26

26The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 08— 2020
The Christmas
Do you really want to han! out with people that think about
killin! other people their whole life? ...yes
Words: Valur Grettisson Photo: AdobeStock
There is, on average, one murder committed each year in Iceland. But, surpris-
ingly, every Christmas brings a complete bloodbath to the bookstores. During
the holiday season, Icelandic writers compete to kill their literary characters
in as brutal a way as they can imagine. This, naturally, then draws out a
flawed, depressed, down-on-their-luck investigator with a broken relation-
ship with their only adult child, who has to, against all odds, solve the heinous
crime. Welcome to the Scandinavian crime novel.
Although many have tried to write these dark stories, surprisingly few suc-
ceed. Still, while Iceland once boasted just two brilliant crime writers, now we
have a ton.
The Queen Of Horror
Yrsa Sigur"ardóttir
The Reykjavík Grapevine often
mentions Yrsa Sigur!ardóttir
and for good reason. Yrsa is the
queen of horror and Icelandic
crime. She’s also an engineer,
which makes her murder stories
creepily methodical and detailed.
If that’s not enough, Yrsa was also
once held in police custody on sus-
picion of being involved with the
drug import trade, so she knows
the shady details of crime better
than anyone else on this list. To be
clear, she wasn’t involved in drugs,
but it’s still a cool backstory. Yrsa’s
best work, in my opinion, is ‘My
Soul To Take’, with our favourite
heroine, "óra Gu!mundsdóttir.
But you can’t go wrong with any of
her books.
The King Of Killings
Arnaldur Indri"ason
When talking about Icelandic
crime literature, you must bow
down to the literature crime king
himself, Arnaldur Indri!ason.
In the late 90s, Arnaldur lost his
job as a journalist and decided to
try his hand as a crime writer—
something that was more or less
frowned upon at the time. But the
author proved with his slick style
and sharp focus that crime stories
were more than just light reading.
Now, he’s the father of modern Ice-
landic mysteries, an international
household name and a yearly mur-
derer that we can’t get enough of.
Best books? Well, all of them, but
you can start at ‘Jar City’ and after-
wards check out the film version
directed by Baltasar Kormákur—
the one that directed ‘Everest’.
The Prinz of Germany
Ragnar Jónasson
W hen Rag nar Jón sson f i rst
emerged with his Agatha Chris-
tie-esque crime novels in 2009,
he didn’t get raving reviews in the
Icelandic media. His first book
‘False Note’ was said to be “slick
but hollow,” but Ragnar, who is
a corporate lawyer by day, writer
by night, kept going, publishing
one novel per year until he topped
the German bestseller list and lit-
erature list at Amazon with ‘The
Mist’. This incredibly skilled au-
thor has earned every bit of his
success and could possibly stand
up as the most successful Icelan-
dic international crime writer.
But where to start? ‘The Darkness’
would be a good choice. If that’s
not enough, the Icelandic TV show
‘Trapped’—also with Baltasar Ko-
rmákur at the helm—is based on
Ragnar’s books.
The Duchess Of Inner
Demons
Lilja Sigur"ardóttir
Lilja Sigur!ardóttir is perhaps
not the most well-known name in
this category, but she has the most
diverse writing style. Lilja jumps
from being an award-winning
playwright to a fantastic crime
fiction writer as seamlessly and
effortlessly as George R. R. Martin
kills off beloved characters. Her
characters are also more diverse
than most of the other crime writ-
ers in Iceland. For example, her
women are often queer—such as
in the well-executed ‘Snare.’ Unlike
other writers, Lilja is not obsessed
with murder mysteries, but rather
with character-driven drama that
surrounds a crime. Not to say that
there are no plot twists or schemes
in her works, because she is excel-
lent when it comes to that too. So
start with ‘Snare,’ and then just
keep going.
Books
!.""# kr.
! COURSE TASTING MENU
ICELANDIC JOURNEY
WE START WITH A REFRESHING SHOT OF ICELANDIC “BRENNIVÍN“
SMOKED PUFFIN with a 64° Reykjavík Distillery crowberry liqueur sauce
MINKE WHALE, smoky celeriac puree, “malt” sauce
TRADITIONAL ICELANDIC “FLATKAKA“, lightly cured arctic char,
cream cheese, dill, lemon oil
HORSE CARPACCIO dates, rucola-mayo, crispy Jerusalem artichokes, parmesan
LING, mashed potatoes, caper flowers, Dijon-butter sauce
ICELANDIC LAMB RUMP STEAK,parma ham & herb crumble, mashed potatoes
SKYR PAVLOVA,meringue, skyr cream, blackberry jam, raspberry coulis,
red velvet short cake
SÆTA SVÍNI! / Hafnarstræti 1-3 / Tel. 555 2900 / saetasvinid.is
ICELANDIC GASTROPUB
A typical Icelander on Christmas day