Trolls' Cathedral

by Ólafur Gunnarsson, David McDuff (Translator)

Sigurbjorn is an architect with big dreams. In the spring of 1952, he is busy planning Iceland's first department store. Acquiring the land in Reykjavik from his father-in-law, he begins construction in partnership with Gudbrandur, a master carpenter and friend. However, when the structure is finished and the store is about to open, his 12-year-old son is lured inside by a neighborhood man, beaten, and sexually assaulted. This work, the author's first full-length novel available in English, chronicles how this devastating event acts like a cancer on the lives of all those it touches. Sigurbjorn's world disintegrates with gathering speed as he questions his faith, his friendships, and his marriage. Then, having lost his business, he plummets into the abyss of a mental breakdown. Gunnarsson writes a convincing tale of complex emotions and personal histories. Readers unfamiliar with Iceland will nonetheless be drawn to this novel's universal themes.

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Ólafur Gunnarsson was born in Reykjavík on July 18, 1948. He completed a commercial diploma from The Commercial College of Iceland in 1968. Ólafur worked for the merchant Ásbjörn Ólafsson hf. from 1965-1971 and was a driver with the Reykjavík medical emergency services from 1972-1978. Ólafur has worked as a writer since 1974.

Poetry by Ólafur Gunnarsson had appeared in newspapers and magazines before his first novel, Milljón-prósent menn (Million-Percent Men), was published in 1978. He has published novels, short stories and children's books as well as a travel story about his road trip with author (and co-author of the book) Einar Kárason in the U.S.A. in 2006. His novel, Tröllakirkja (Troll's Cathedral, 1996) was nominated for the Icelandic Literature Award in 1992 and the English translation was furthermore nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literature Award in 1997. An adaptation for the stage premiered at The National Theatre in 1996 and the film right has been sold. He received the Icelandic Literature Prize for his novel, Öxin og jörðin, in 2004.

Some of Ólafur's work has been translated into other languages, the children's book Fallegi flughvalurinn (The Beautiful Flying Whale, 1999) has been published in Britain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and The Faroe Islands, and was nominated to the Nordic Children's Literature Award in 1990. Some of his novels for adults have been translated to English, German and French. Ólafur has in addition to this, translated novels and plays into Icelandic.

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Translated from the Icelandic by David McDuff and Jill Burrows

Withdrawn from Chattanooga Hamilton Co. Bicentennial Library

Dedicated to the memory of Alfred Flóki (1938-1987)

The Icelandic troll is
a large, malevolent creature.
It is a shape-changer, nocturnal
and cannibalistic.
If caught in daylight
it will turn into a rock.

Opening: For Sigurbjörn Helgason, the architect, the worst embarrassment imaginable was to be seen in public improperly dressed.

[Akin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nasty, brutal, not very short. There's a veneer of docility, the placid acceptance of one's place in the general order of things. One knows almost from the start that thing's won't end well for Sigurbjorn, the ambitious builder hoping to build Reykjavik's first department store. Even so, the undercurrent of violence never fails to shock when it erupts, victims and perpetuators equally unpredictable. A disturbingly discomfiting read.

[Ivy Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters feel so real with their squabbles and lies and little hopes, and I knew the violence was coming, but everything that happened still surprised me. If there is no God, then why not go on and build a cathedral anyway? Or, at least, you can plan one.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gut-wrenching tragedy by one of Iceland's great contemporary authors. Very difficult to find, as Mare's Press has gone out of business, but worth the hunt.

[Einar Jóhann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bókin fær fjórar. Sagan er metnaðarfull og mikið í hana lagt en fyrst og síðast er hún óþægileg. Það sat einhver hrollur í mér á meðan ég las sem ég upplifi ekki oft. Maður varð þess áskynja að Ólafur varði góðum tíma í söguna.
Stíllinn er flottur og ég kann vel við að hann er knappur þegar hann kemst á flug. Góðu sprettirnir dragast ekki á langinn og fjara þessvegna aldrei út. Senur þar sem persónur bókarinnar í heiftarhug ráfa um í fjöru eða annarri náttúru eru góðar.

[Ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a review on here which called this book "not very short". I would entirely agree with that statement.

[Zuzanna Korpak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mér leist ekkert á blikuna, en ég gat ekki hætt að lesa

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Icelandic fiction.....mid 1950's Reykjavik....Architecture and family, dealing with trajedy. Read during trip to Reykjavik.