I & I - 2011, Síða 44

44 I&I
tHe LittLe book oF
tHe iceLAnders—voL. 1.
I bet I wasn’t the only one who felt sad when Iceland’s leading lady
of the blogosphere, two-time Bloggie nominee Alda Sigmundsdóttir
of The Iceland Weather Report, announced her decision to stop blog-
ging.
For years she has entertained and enlightened the world with her
honest and hilarious anecdotes about the Icelanders, and her deep and
profound news analysis, which provided foreign media outlets with
valuable and, sadly, often unaccredited information.
But fans of Alda will be thrilled to know that she has not stopped
writing, she just switched formats, and are sure to welcome her second
eBook, The Little Book of the Icelanders—Vol. 1.
Preceded by the more serious Living Inside the Meltdown, is a lighter
read, comprising “50 miniature essays on the quirks and foibles of the
Icelanders,” as it says on the cover.
Indeed, one chapter leads to the next, creating a continuous chain
of storytelling. It feels as if you’re sitting in the author’s kitchen, enjoy-
ing a cup of coffee and conversing with her about the quirks of her
countrymen, every now and then bursting out laughing. And Alda sure
has mastered the art of storytelling. Her style is sarcastic and straight
to the point, drawing up amusing and truthful examples of Icelandic
behavior.
I recommend that people planning to move to Iceland read this book
to prepare for an imminent culture shock. For example, it’s good to
know that you shouldn’t expect a surprise party for your birthday or
anyone buying a cake for you; in Iceland you bake or buy the cake and
organize your birthday party yourself.
Not being aware of these cultural differences, an American colleague
of mine was very sad that no one remembered her birthday, when ev-
eryone expected her to announce it was her birthday and bring a cake
to celebrate like everyone else at the office does.
Also, if no one mentions it specifically, you should not bring your own
food if you’re invited to a dinner party or a BBQ, and usually the host
provides the beverages too, while bringing a bottle of wine for the host
is considered a polite gesture.
The book is a valuable source of information about many Icelandic
traditions, including naming traditions, which, based on the interest of
my readers in that subject, is a likely hit.
Some traditions, such as weddings and funerals, aren’t that different
from those in other Western countries, I believe, at least not European
or Nordic countries, but, of course, Alda draws the most comparisons
with North American traditions.
I heartily recommend The Little Book of the Icelanders both to fans of
Alda’s blog and those unfamiliar with her work. It is a funny little book
that rings true, although it shouldn’t be taken too seriously either.
By Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir.
iceLAndic books:
A reFLection oF reALity
And Absurdity
Our critics look at three different Icelandic books
by three different Icelandic authors.

ICELANDERS PUBLISH
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