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Lindsey's review

Independent People
by Halldór Kiljan Laxness

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77287.Independent_People?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Independent People" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1170900046m/77287.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77287.Independent_People?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Independent People</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8875.Halld_r_Kiljan_Laxness">Halldór Kiljan Laxness</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13386418?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 5 of 5 stars<br/>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 be so incredible?  I absolutely loved this story of stubborn sheep farmer Bjartur of Summerhouses and the myriad villagers and family members who surround him (and whom he spends most of his life ignoring, scorning, or resenting).  Not only does Laxness paint a clear picture of rural Iceland in the early twentieth century, but he also invents some of the most memorable characters I've ever encountered.  Most of the relationships involve misunderstandings and flawed attempts at communication, and in this way they are entirely human; the interactions between little Nonni and his grandmother, and Bjartur and his daughter, Asta Sollilja, are the ones that most affected me.  I finished the book at school and actually had to stop reading it until my planning period, so I wouldn't alarm the kids by crying.  Other reviews I've seen of "Independent People" say it is really about sheep; I disagree.  More than anything else, this novel illustrates the cruelty humans inflict on one another--both willingly and unwillingly--and the love that can surprise and ultimately redeem even the proudest of hearts.
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/273426?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Lindsey's review
rating:

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 be so incredible? I absolutely loved this story of stubborn sheep farmer Bjartur of Summerhouses and the myriad villagers and family members who surround him (and whom he spends most of his life ignoring, scorning, or resenting). Not only does Laxness paint a clear picture of rural Iceland in the early twentieth century, but he also invents some of the most memorable characters I've ever encountered. Most of the relationships involve misunderstandings and flawed attempts at communication, and...more

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message 1: by Carol

03/04/2008 06:21AM

What a great review, Lindsey. 500 pages? Hmmmm. Might just work on a 30-hour flight . . . :) Carol