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  <title><![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]></description>
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        <name><![CDATA[Halldór Kiljan Laxness]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
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    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
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  <read_at>Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[Confession: I only got maybe 50 pages into this ~400-pager -- not even the old college try, really.  And reading it did make me feel like I was back in my Russian Novel lit class in college -- this is very much, as far as I could tell, in the style of the 19th-century Russians who wrote in ponderous...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25803837">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
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    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 22 00:18:00 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 22 00:26:29 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[What interesting about &quot;Iceland's Bell&quot; is that it deserves more. It's a complicated book to rate and review, if only because it was a complicated book to read. That said, readers with some free time on their hands and the need to tackle some of the Nobel masters should definitely look at ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81729666">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[La cloche d'Islande: Roman]]>
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  <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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    <body><![CDATA[Prix Nobel de Littérature 1955<br/>*<br/><br/><br/>1944, l’Islande est sur le point d’obtenir son indépendance. <br/><br/>Laxness publie la trilogie Íslandsklukkan, La cloche d’Islande : le destin de Jón Hreggviðsson, présumé assassin de l’envoyé du Roi. <br/><br/>Ce même en...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66739111">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>81008918</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[William]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
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  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Dec 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 14 15:11:48 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 19 09:33:33 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Dense, lyrical, evocative.  Iceland's Bell is certainly not for everyone.  Part satire, part history, part saga, and all love song to the endurance of the Icelandic people, Laxness tells the story of Farmer and cord-thief Jon Hreggvidsson who faces murder charges and find himself involved the star-c...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81008918">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81008918]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81008918]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>69621734</id>
    <user>
    <id>2400951</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kallie]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
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  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[anyone interested in writing and European history]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Mon Aug 31 18:22:24 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[I've never read a better historical novel, free of anachronisms and sentimentality, witty yet never 'light history,' as are too many historical novels written these days.  Laxness writes such vivid, complex characters and depiction of life in the 17th century, when Iceland was under the heel of the ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69621734">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69621734]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69621734]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Ian]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
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    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
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  <published>1972</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Mar 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Thu Apr 23 12:28:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[A very good book that provides a look into a time and place not often explored.  It can be a bit slow-moving and the geography is a bit hard to follow.  To fully enjoy it you have to be ready for its pace and in the right frame of mind.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53737062]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53737062]]></link>
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      <review>
  <id>62606785</id>
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    <id>3784</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Robin]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 08 06:43:57 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 08 06:46:37 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this while on a trip to Iceland (part of my honeymoon, actually).  If you haven't read any Icelandic literature, Laxness is where you should start.  Such a different sense of humor and beauty.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62606785]]></url>
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <date_updated>Fri Feb 15 08:09:22 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is his go at a historical novel, the story of Jón Hreggviðsson who possibly kills the King's (Danish) hangman in a drunken stupor; it's never quite clear whether he's guilty or not. Set at the end of the 17th Century and based on real historical events, Laxness paints a fairly unappealing ima...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15484661">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15484661]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Hundeschlitten]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 04 20:50:56 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 04 20:57:53 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Not my favorite Laxness novel, but it is always good to read another book by this man. I love the characters and the matter-of-fact way Laxness tells the tale, allowing the absurdity of life to creep inside the narrative. This one attempts to follow the narrative structure of the Icelandic Sagas, an...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8677858">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8677858]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8677858]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>3496995</id>
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    <id>217512</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dean]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 25 06:33:56 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 01:55:24 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An excellent mix of history (Denmark's control of Iceland, Copenhagen fire, and the poverty the people of an isolated country) and some of the saddest, funniest and most determined characters Laxness has come up with.  My highlights: The man who sells his wife for Brennevin, the man in the prison ce...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3496995">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3496995]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3496995]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>21110602</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Trilby]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14267.Iceland_s_Bell</link>
  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 27 12:54:00 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Apr 27 12:59:59 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Laxness has given us a crazy, wonderful, hysterical, silly account of an historical lawsuit in Iceland. Follow the misadventure of poor Jon Hreggvidsson as he gets kicked all over Europe by nasty upper crust rotters and smug Danes.  My favorite Laxness novel...]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21110602]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21110602]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>23483373</id>
    <user>
    <id>886474</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Natasha]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Copenhagen, OR, Denmark]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14267.Iceland_s_Bell</link>
  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jun 01 20:22:38 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 14 16:57:12 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[whoa. highly enjoyable at times, but sometimes i really struggled to get through it. it was also really weird to read it in the desert, since it's set in the Great North. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23483373]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23483373]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>12360660</id>
    <user>
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  <isbn>1400034256</isbn>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Iceland's Bell]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>122</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong> by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king&#8217;s hangman.<br/><br/>In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as &#8220;Iceland&#8217;s Sun,&#8221; a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king&#8217;s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, <strong>Iceland&#8217;s Bell</strong><em> </em>creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1972</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 12 17:32:23 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jan 17 13:21:59 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was totally absorbing.  It sounds boring, but isn't.  Give it a shot- you won't regret it!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12360660]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12360660]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>33388</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Greta]]></name>
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    <body><![CDATA[Treasure of treasures; I'd give up a year of my life to spontaneously read Icelandic.]]></body>
    
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    <body><![CDATA[Just as good as Independent People]]></body>
    
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