Specify Out Of Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
| Title | : | Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4) |
| Author | : | Halldór Laxness |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 482 pages |
| Published | : | January 14th 1997 by Vintage (first published 1934) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Historical. Historical Fiction. Literature |
Halldór Laxness
Paperback | Pages: 482 pages Rating: 4.17 | 8603 Users | 1203 Reviews
Interpretation To Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
This magnificent novel—which secured for its author the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature—is at last available to contemporary American readers. Although it is set in the early twentieth century, it recalls both Iceland's medieval epics and such classics as Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter. And if Bjartur of Summerhouses, the book's protagonist, is an ordinary sheep farmer, his flinty determination to achieve independence is genuinely heroic and, at the same time, terrifying and bleakly comic.Having spent eighteen years in humiliating servitude, Bjartur wants nothing more than to raise his flocks unbeholden to any man. But Bjartur's spirited daughter wants to live unbeholden to him. What ensues is a battle of wills that is by turns harsh and touching, elemental in its emotional intensity and intimate in its homely detail. Vast in scope and deeply rewarding, Independent People is simply a masterpiece
Define Books In Pursuance Of Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
| Original Title: | Sjálfstætt fólk |
| ISBN: | 0679767924 (ISBN13: 9780679767923) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4 |
| Characters: | Bjartur í Sumarhúsum, Ásta Sóllilja, Nonni, Helgi, Gvendur, Ingólfur Arnarson, Rauðsmýrarmaddaman, Jón, hreppstjóri, Rósa, Finna, Hallbera |
| Setting: | Iceland |
| Literary Awards: | Premi Llibreter de narrativa Nominee (2005) |
Rating Out Of Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
Ratings: 4.17 From 8603 Users | 1203 ReviewsRate Out Of Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
An odd, yet intriguing story. Bjartur's drive for independence affects his entire life and family. Their world is bleak and hard. Buried in this story is the story of Iceland. It's the farmers being exploited, the rich being rewarded. It's a hard scrabble life.The prose is rich and deep. This isn't a book to read quickly. It requires a bit of commitment. The richness of the prose is the reward. The story of Bjartur and his family roles out in an interesting pattern. The landscape of IcelandEmily randomly picked up this book for me in Powells a few years ago, and, after seeing it on our shelf, Brian selected it for book club. I don't know if I ever would have bumped into it on my own, which makes me understand Brad Leithauser's comment in the introduction that discovering "Independent People" makes you feel supremely lucky. What are the odds of stumbling upon an almost 500-page, densely woven, Icelandic novel from the 1940s, and further, what are the odds that it would be so
Better Red Than DeadEntering into Independent People with no introduction, one could be forgiven for thinking it a merely charming review of early 20th century Icelandic culture, an update of the sagas and a chronicle of the rugged life of the North. Laxness apparently promotes this in his opening paragraphs with his references to local legends of Norse colonisers, Celtic demons, and the various Icelandic myths of national origin. He describes a timeless scene, ...the centuries lie side by side
This story of a man determined to be an independent smallholder raising sheep in the years before the first world war is a great book, for the right reader. As a book it has two principal obstacles to being universally enjoyed. Firstly, sheep are among the most important characters and much like their human dependants, their hardy virtues are easier to admire than love. Secondly, it is full of misery, worse yet, misery that is handled with irony and detachment. The simplest way of describing
I see a number of my GR friends have read this but A BILLION MORE of them have this listed as To Read. Yes, I see why. Every single person who has read this thinks this is a masterpiece but you stroke your chin and you think do I really need a 600 page novel about Icelandic sheep farmers in my life? Even if it is a Nobel prize winning all time masterpiece?Maybe you are like me, you live in a city and think the countryside is very pretty to visit for an afternoon, what with all the moo cows and
When you say the word 'culture', watch out. The traps within the simple word are many, a loving gaze on the self and a objectifying fascination with the other, idealization and discrimination two shafts of light within the same grimy crystal. Nothing conveys this truth so well and so thoroughly as literature, as many throughout the centuries bring up their utensil of inkish intent and lay down their views, all for the most part bound within their single subset of country, family, faith. Nothing
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