Steinunn Sigurðardóttir: Tímaþjófurinn (The Thief of Time)

The latest addition to my website is Steinunn Sigurðardóttir‘s Tímaþjófurinn (The Thief of Time), the third Sigurðardóttir on the Iceland page of my website. This one is a sad love story. Alda Ivarsen is a thirty-seven year old teacher of English and German. She has had a succession of love affairs, which she usually controls. … Read more

Ragna Sigurðardóttir: Hið fullkomna landslag (The Perfect Landscape)

The latest addition to my website is Ragna Sigurðardóttir‘s Hið fullkomna landslag (The Perfect Landscape), the second Sigurðardóttir on the Iceland page of my website. I have always had a penchant for books about art forgery and this is one of the topics of this book. Hanna, an Icelandic art expert who has been working … Read more

Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir: Medan nóttin lídur (Night Watch)

The latest addition to my website is Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir‘s Medan nóttin lídur (Night Watch). There seem to be several Icelandic writers with the patronymic Sigurðardóttir and Fríða will be the first of three that I shall be reviewing over the next few days. This is a really excellent novel, which tells of the three … Read more

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir: Rigning í nóvember (Butterflies in November)

The latest addition to my website is Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir‘s Rigning í nóvember (Butterflies in November), another quirky novel from this author. The unnamed narrator of this novel is a thirty-three old woman who works as a translator, proof-reader and editor (and occasionally supplies additional sexual services to her clients). Her marriage is falling apart … Read more

Icelandic literature

A while ago, I said I might, one day, read only books from one specific country for a few weeks. I have ruminated over this idea for a while and have now decided the time has come. The choice of country was not difficult. When I was browsing in Eymundson’s wonderful bookshop in Reykjavik, I … Read more

Jun’ichiro Tanizaki: 友田と松永の話 [The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga]

The latest addition to my website is Jun’ichiro Tanizaki‘s 友田と松永の話 [The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga]. The narrator, a well-known novelist, receives a letter from Shige Matsunaga, asking him to help locate her husband. They have been happily married, living in the country. However, after a few years of marriage, when she was pregnant, he … Read more