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18th out of 341 books
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Independent People
In an epic set in Iceland in the early twentieth century, Gudbjartur Jonsson buys his own croft after eighteen years of service to the local bailiff, and brings his wife and his small flock of sheep there to build a new, independent life for himself.
Paperback, 482 pages
Published
February 19th 2009
by Vintage
(first published 1935)
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"How much can one sacrifice for the sake of one's pride? Everything, of course - if one is proud enough." - Halldór Laxness, The Atom Station, 1948
No less than the best book I have read so far in my life.
Independent People (original title: Sjálfstætt Fólk) is the tragedy of a man who is proud enough to sacrifice everything. It tells the story of Bjartur of Summerhouses, his family (especially his daughter, Ásta Sóllilja) and the 'world war' they wage against the hars...more
No less than the best book I have read so far in my life.
Independent People (original title: Sjálfstætt Fólk) is the tragedy of a man who is proud enough to sacrifice everything. It tells the story of Bjartur of Summerhouses, his family (especially his daughter, Ásta Sóllilja) and the 'world war' they wage against the hars...more
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Emily 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 ...more
Despite the reviews below, this book is not about sheep.
Independent People is about the complex intersection of pride and poverty. It is the story of the fiercely strong and intelligent everyman who has little to show for their successes yet holds their successes with high esteem. It is also about how one's endless struggle to be self-sufficient can make one bitter, senseless, hypocritical and cold.
This book is not about sheep at all. Main character Bjartur is preocc...more
Independent People is about the complex intersection of pride and poverty. It is the story of the fiercely strong and intelligent everyman who has little to show for their successes yet holds their successes with high esteem. It is also about how one's endless struggle to be self-sufficient can make one bitter, senseless, hypocritical and cold.
This book is not about sheep at all. Main character Bjartur is preocc...more
This is an amazing book. It captures the essence of the rugged moorland icelandic shepherds life with brutal realism, ironic hilarity, poetical whimsy, and biting political commentary. This book really has it all, captures life in all its comic tragedy while giving a window into a world where sheep diarrhea is a primary topic of conversation. This is truly a book like no other. I spent the first 20 pages trying to decide if the author had his tongue in his cheek or had the earnestness of a missi...more
sort of a twentieth century Icelandic saga. so far so good although i put it down in the middle over a month ago. i will finish it however.
UPDATE: this book was amazing, one of those books that creates a whole world you live in for the time you're reading it. one of those books where, as a friend of mine says, you get sad at the end because your friends are going away now.
not that the characters are necessarily likable. one of the novel's great achievements is creating a ...more
UPDATE: this book was amazing, one of those books that creates a whole world you live in for the time you're reading it. one of those books where, as a friend of mine says, you get sad at the end because your friends are going away now.
not that the characters are necessarily likable. one of the novel's great achievements is creating a ...more
Hardship and frontier sagas have their own man vs. nature fan club, whose meetings I rarely attend. When you overlay the whole elemental drama with an exposition of the honest, working man’s helplessness in the face of the manipulative rich people who advance capitalism and modernity, a grim sub-genre emerges. It was done perfectly with “The Grapes of Wrath” and a guild of other page-fillers have knocked out an unnecessary pile of novels that tell similar tales ad nauseum.
Certainly,...more
Certainly,...more
I read this book during a vacation in Iceland, which is where my grandmother was born. The bleak landscape we drove through helped bring the book to life, and the book made me feel I had a better understanding of both my grandmother and the people we ran into along the way in Iceland. I found the book hard to get through - its main character is such a dour, unpleasant person, and there is so little relief of anything good happening to anyone. Bleak is the word. On one stretch of road that went h...more
To properly appreciate and read this book, on must hunker down on the cold heath, be it your home or abroad, ignore the heat or embrace the cold, and read each line as if it was the first.
Some books can be consumed whole, reading sentences, paragraphs, pages, all at once, your consciousness able to swallow great chunks and extract nutrition. But Laxness' book is not of this nature, it is the opposite - the larger chunks you swallow, the slower you must read, because on a fast reading...more
Some books can be consumed whole, reading sentences, paragraphs, pages, all at once, your consciousness able to swallow great chunks and extract nutrition. But Laxness' book is not of this nature, it is the opposite - the larger chunks you swallow, the slower you must read, because on a fast reading...more
This book is about sheep. And being cold. If you think about sheep, the reality of them, they're kinda dirty, kinda creepy, look a little like weird demon creatures. Same goes for a lot of things in this book. There ARE weird demon creatures and creepy men/women/children; some die spitting blood into the snow while some survive reindeer rides through ice-cold rivers in the middle of a night where time seems to have stopped; people dream long or briefly and inevitably lose their dreams; gnarled o...more
Sometime around the year 2000 I began to feel a certain affinity towards all things from Iceland -- music, film, literature, people, etc. This feeling culminated in a two-week vacation for me in Reykjavik just after the September 11th attacks.
This book took me a little while to get into. Its pace is slow at first, but once it gets rolling, the book is difficult to set down.
More to come ... I need to review the book before I can finish writing this revew.
This book took me a little while to get into. Its pace is slow at first, but once it gets rolling, the book is difficult to set down.
More to come ... I need to review the book before I can finish writing this revew.
I ran across an excerpt from this novel in The Ends of the Earth and was quite taken, so I thought I'd give it a chance. Very glad I did.
How to describe this book? Its subtitle describes it as "an epic," and it is indeed that. The story centers around Bjartur, the patriarch of a small sheep-farming family in early 20th century Iceland. Bjartur, whose primary goal in life is to remain independent of anyone else, follows this path to an extreme that brings unimaginable hardsh...more
How to describe this book? Its subtitle describes it as "an epic," and it is indeed that. The story centers around Bjartur, the patriarch of a small sheep-farming family in early 20th century Iceland. Bjartur, whose primary goal in life is to remain independent of anyone else, follows this path to an extreme that brings unimaginable hardsh...more
The first third of the book is so filled with misery as to be off-putting, but has sufficient points of light to keep one reading until the second 'book', when little waves of beauty and tenderness come lapping up to comfort you through the harsh Icelandic winter. There are, for instance, passages transcribing the inner lives of children that are heartbreakingly acute, and with great tenderness you are lead along with the characters until their actions seem inevitable and right, even as you dre...more
alright, i have wasted enough time resisting reading this. i got halfway through and still didn't like it anymore than when i started, so i'm calling it quits. the reason i hung in there so long was because of this, the start to the introduction of the book, "There are good books and there are great books and there may be a book that is still something more: it is the book of your life." the book of my life!!! how could i pass that up? even if i was totally bored??? seriously, that is ...more
Originally published in 1946 and out of print for decades, this book by the Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author is a huge, skaldic treat filled with satire, humor, pathos, cold weather and sheep. I read this book because it was highly recommended. It took me FOREVER to finish it, and, truthfully, I couldn't stand the main character. And then . . . it stayed with me for a long, long, long while. And I wanted to reread parts of it. It's poetic in an Icelandic saga kind of way. A great achievement...more
This is one of the books that, while reading it, I didn't really like it at all. I couldn't stand the main character, Bjartur, I hated the way he treated everyone around him, the story was depressing and slow and I just couldn't stand it. But as I got nearer to the end of the book, I started loving it more and more, and by the end, it had grown on me so much, it had become one of my favourite books.
So if you start reading it and feel like me about it, don't give up just yet. Try to get th...more
So if you start reading it and feel like me about it, don't give up just yet. Try to get th...more
I'm reading this because my friend Steven loved it so much. I don't think I've ever read a piece of modern (well, 20C) Icelandic literature, and I'm enjoying it, especially the parts written from Nonni's point of view. There is plenty in here for the fiber-obsessed (ahem) to enjoy. Our civilization really does rest upon the textile arts!
But warning, you might want to read this in warmer months. It would be a pretty bleak story in the dead of winter. You will be happy that your b...more
But warning, you might want to read this in warmer months. It would be a pretty bleak story in the dead of winter. You will be happy that your b...more
This book fights it out with two others for the #1 spot in my hierarchy. It's deep, describing utter rural poverty and the transition from one socio-economic era to the next. This is one of those books that elucidates interior lives so well that you can really identify with the characters, while creating a social landscape around them that is vivid and concrete. I often describe it to friends as a "perfect" book because I didn't have any of those moments in the book that felt like hum...more
I'm not quite done with this Icelandic epic yet, but I'll forget details if I don't write about it now. The story follows Bjartur of Summerhouses over several decades in his life. Bjartur is a sheep farmer who values independence, that is, a lack of debts and obligation, above all. The deaths of wives and children do not measure up to the death of sheep, whom his entire livelihood depend upon. This book has dragged at some points and gone by in a flash at others, which may be the point. Life in ...more
Laxness won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955, having published this particular novel in 1946.
The language at the beginning of this narrative sounds epic, out of time, a stage-setting that sets a mood and tone most interesting. As the narrative proceeds, there is both a simplicity and grimness about it. Bjartur’s obsession with independence stunts human flourishing. One can sympathize with his wife Rosa’s wilting under the privations that he insists upon. Laxness’s description ...more
The language at the beginning of this narrative sounds epic, out of time, a stage-setting that sets a mood and tone most interesting. As the narrative proceeds, there is both a simplicity and grimness about it. Bjartur’s obsession with independence stunts human flourishing. One can sympathize with his wife Rosa’s wilting under the privations that he insists upon. Laxness’s description ...more
This is a book for people who love reading. Not necessarily easy to 'get into' for some modern tastes (the book was first published in 1934-5, thus covering the historical period leading to World War I and the Great Depression) but it is worth persisting with it and allowing it to 'work' on you. Other reviews provide basic details regarding the plot and people in the novel, so I won't repeat them. What is wonderful about the book is that it is ultimately intensely human.
Special cons...more
Special cons...more
This is the third or fourth time I have read this book and it remains on the top of my list as an all time favorite. Musician Robert Decormier, composer/arranger for Harry Belafonte and for peter, Paul, and Mary, recommended it to me over thirty years ago. It was reissued in 1995 with a modern rural cover, although certainly far beyond the accommodations enjoyed? by Bjartur and his "independent" family. Like Kristin Lavransdatter, it is dark beyond our modern understanding and takes...more
I don't know much about Icelandic history, culture or society, but apparently it is a country infected with a strain of stupid "rugged individualism" similar to the strain we have in the United States. This novel is a mordant satire of this outlook on life, and it manages to be moving at points as well.
The protagonist, Bjartur of Summerhouses, reminds me of no one so much as Don Quixote. Granted, unlike Don Quixote he is a modern and rational figure when it comes to the sup...more
The protagonist, Bjartur of Summerhouses, reminds me of no one so much as Don Quixote. Granted, unlike Don Quixote he is a modern and rational figure when it comes to the sup...more
Books that take me to another culture, time and place are the top of my reading list. This one certainly does just that. Bjartur is one of the most unlikeable but yet interesting characters in literature. His quest for independence is admirable yet at times just stupid and cruel. The portrayal of the life of an Icelandic peasant is so well crafted one can almost hear the sheep bleating. This is definitely a well written, deeply thought provoking book.
Yet, it is also hard to read espec...more
Yet, it is also hard to read espec...more
Pride. Pride has been the topic of beautiful and deep conversations with friends, some still ongoing. It's a multifaceted word, hard to talk about because of its many meanings. It's also an important and necessary part of the balance we humans must keep.
Cruelty. Not a word I'd ever associated with pride, but now I may never be able to look at pride the same way. Some may see Independent People as a book about sheep, or perhaps the Icelandic ethos, or about struggle. I found heartbreak....more
Cruelty. Not a word I'd ever associated with pride, but now I may never be able to look at pride the same way. Some may see Independent People as a book about sheep, or perhaps the Icelandic ethos, or about struggle. I found heartbreak....more
The jury is still out on this book--while Laxness is brilliant at character portraiture, he glorifies socialism in this work. I am fascinated by the portrayal of Icelandic people he conveys and desire to read more of his works. I think it would be fascinating to study what literary devices he uses effectively to persuade to his "flavor of the month" belief, i.e., Caholicism, anti-religious, socialism, anti-socialism, Taoism, etc.
Irwan
added it
I found this book years ago when I had the chance to visit Reykjavik, a charming little capital city. Coming from Indonesia, a highly populated country, I couldn't help feeling envious on how this modestly populated country could yield a nobel-awarded literary figure.
Managed to read a few pages, but distracted by my heavy loads of reading materials for my study then. Looking forward to begin reading it again one day.
Managed to read a few pages, but distracted by my heavy loads of reading materials for my study then. Looking forward to begin reading it again one day.
Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk) tells the story of Iceland after Home Rule in 1904 by following a crofter who is determined to be self-sufficient at all costs. Whether this is admirable or foolhardy is open to debate.
Halldór Laxness won the Nobel Prize in Literature for this novel, written in the style of a saga in that it provides rich details about events, but makes very little attempt at explaining characters’ emotions or motives. The crofter, Bjartur of Summerhouses, is pro...more
Halldór Laxness won the Nobel Prize in Literature for this novel, written in the style of a saga in that it provides rich details about events, but makes very little attempt at explaining characters’ emotions or motives. The crofter, Bjartur of Summerhouses, is pro...more
This is a re-read of a book that I read at the right time, therefore changing my life significantly back in 2002. Ah, yes, the year after college. I stubbornly wanted to do everything on my own, without help, and that was a crock. Which is kind of what this book is about. Re-reading it after having read _Freedom_ just a few weeks ago is interesting, too, because the two themes dovetail quite a bit. But I adore this book, and now that I am a bit older, the politics and cynicism intrigue me just a...more
*Spoiler alert*
This book provided me with new anxieties I never dreamed possible. Like dying and hoping that the family dog will keep my child alive.
I felt this was a long, tragic, often disjointed saga of a man who loses everyone and everything while clinging to a fabricated idea of independence. I gave my husband tragedy updates every day as I plodded along through this lengthy tome, often feeling as absurd as Bjartur himself for my stubborness and reluctance to just abandon it after children...more
This book provided me with new anxieties I never dreamed possible. Like dying and hoping that the family dog will keep my child alive.
I felt this was a long, tragic, often disjointed saga of a man who loses everyone and everything while clinging to a fabricated idea of independence. I gave my husband tragedy updates every day as I plodded along through this lengthy tome, often feeling as absurd as Bjartur himself for my stubborness and reluctance to just abandon it after children...more
The story of a man...and his sheep, and his dog, and his family, woven into several hundred pages of ok literature. Basically it's an interesting read if you have lots of time on your hands and you want to get a change from boring English descriptions of family living and survival and get a more pleasant, natural picture from the glacial setting in Independent People (Iceland). The story is more or less the continuing adventure of a man obsessed with his personal opinions, which make him stubb...more
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Born Halldór Guðjónsson, he adopted the surname Laxness in honour of Laxnes in Mosfellssveit where he grew up, his family having moved from Reyjavík in 1905. He published his first novel at the age of 17, the beginning of a long literary career of over 60 books, including novels, short stories, poetry, and plays. Confirmed a Catholic in 1923, he later moved away from religion and for a long time w...more
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“Maðurinn finnur það sem hann leitar að, og sá sem trúir á draug finnur draug.”
—
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“But he could not help it. No one can help it. One is a realist. One has put up with it all ever since childhood; one has had the courage to look it full in the eye, possibly courage enough to look it in the eye all one's life long. Then one day the distances beckon with their floating possibilities, and in one's hands are the admission tickets, two slips of blue paper. One is a realist no longer. One has finished putting up with it all, one no longer has the courage to look it in the eye, one is in the power of beckoning hospitable distances, floating possibilities, perhaps forever afterwards. Perhaps one's life is over.”
—
3 people liked it
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