Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2022, Blaðsíða 26

Hallgrímur Helgason is something
of a rebel when it comes to Icelan-
dic fiction, and his weapons are
pleasantly disarming: humour and
entertainment. It took publishing
four books for Hallgrímur to feel
accepted into what we often refer
to as the “culture elite”, and he
embraced low-brow culture in the
noughties, only to witness it taking
over completely.
Nonetheless, Hallgrímur has
left an impression on Icelandic
literary history, having become
the first author to be awarded the
Icelandic Book Prize for fiction
three times—his “Sextíu kíló af
kjaftshöggum” (roughly trans-
lated to ‘Sixty Kilos Of Knockouts’)
sealing the hat trick. It’s a fitting
win, seeing as the first book in the
‘Sixty-kilo’ series took the prize in
2018.
The Grapevine caught up with
Hallgrímur to check in after his
latest win.
Everything can happen,
I guess
Our first question is painfully
basic, but we have to start some-
where: How does Hallgrímur feel
about winning the Icelandic Book
Prize for the third time?
“It was, kind of, just incredible,”
Hallgímur answers. “I figured I
had some chance, but still, when I
heard that I won, it just felt unbe-
lievable.”
He points out that it’s only
three years since he last won the
award for “Sextíu kíló af sóls-
kini” (Sixty Kilos Of Sunshine). “I
remember that this happened in
the U.K. when Hillary Mantel got
the Booker Prize twice for her
series about Thomas Cromwell
[The Wolf Hall series],” he recalls.
“When she wrote the third book,
she jokingly announced that she
would be disappointed if that
book wouldn’t win also. And that
became the case, it wasn’t even
nominated,” Hallgrímur says. “So,
everything can happen I guess.”
Striving to become a
visual artist
When Hallgrímur was a young
man, his mind wasn’t set on liter-
ature, but visual arts—another
field that he has also done very
well in. He was finding a foothold
in the U.S. and had even had his
work exhibited in galleries. His
future seemed bright in the world
of visual arts.
“But then I got sent the repub-
lished Icelandic Sagas, just before
getting a flu," he says. "I spent a
week in bed with them and fell
completely in love. Suddenly I
found myself totally torn between
Keith Haring and the Sagas! I
mean, it was quite a rift, or rather
a whole ‘canyon’ that opened up
there. It was not like simply being
torn between painting and writ-
ing, because on one side of this
canyon was New York in the 80s,
with its exciting art scene, street
art, and rap and hip hop in its
infancy. On the other side stood
this old archaic literature and the
whole of the Icelandic language,
with all its rules of rhyme and
alliteration. I was so smitten by
that reading of the Sagas that my
letters back home were all written
in that old Norse style. My mother
took one of them to her friend, an
old Saga professor at the Univer-
sity, who ‘approved’ of it. You can
say that I have spent my whole
life trying to bridge this ‘canyon’
within myself.”
Bigger than God
The literary landscape that Hall-
grímur found himself in as a
young author was dominated by
the crushing heritage of Iceland’s
most prolific writers of the 20th
century, from !órbergur !ór"ar-
son and Gunnar Gunnarsson to
Halldór Laxness—our only Nobel
Prize winner in literature. They
set a gilded bar for literature in
Torn Between
Keith Harin! And
The Sa!as
Hall!rímur Hel!ason !oes over his career and views after breakin! a
record in literature, receivin! the Icelandic Book Prize for fiction for
the third time
Words: Valur Grettisson Painting: Hallgrímur Helgason Photo: Art Bicnick
Fjallkonan is a new lively restaurant & pub in the heart
of Reykjavík offering a selection of Icelandic and
international dishes from local ingredients.
Casual and cosy atmosphere yet still fun and festive.
Stop by for snacks & drinks, lunch or dinner.
LAMB & FLATBREAD
Slow cooked lamb, traditional Icelandic flatbread from the
Westfjords, carrot purée, pickled red onions, horseradish sauce
ARCTIC CHARR & BLINI
Lighly cured arctic charr, chickpea blini, horseradish sauce,
roe, crispy lentils, yuzu-elderflower dressing
ICELANDIC PLATTER
> Puffin, crowberry gel
> Minke whale, malt glaze
> Lamb tartar, chive mayo
THE LAMB BURGER
Bacon, mushroom & date duxelle, pickled red onions, pickled
cucumber, rucola, smoked cheese, fries
SKYR ETON MESS CHEESECAKE
White chocolate “Skyr” mousse, meringue, raspberries,
raspberry sauce
Hafnarstræti 1–3 > Tel. +354 555 0950 > fjallkona.isfjallkonan.rvk fjallkonan
FJALLKONAN WELCOMES YOU!
Icelandic
Delicacies
Must try dishes
Happy Hour 15-17
every day
Sixfold selfportrait with the ghost of Laxness, painted by Hallgrímur
Books