List Books In Favor Of Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
| Original Title: | Sjálfstætt fólk |
| ISBN: | 0679767924 (ISBN13: 9780679767923) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4 |
| Characters: | Bjartur í Sumarhúsum, Ásta Sóllilja, Nonni, Helgi, Gvendur, Ingólfur Arnarson, Rauðsmýrarmaddaman, Jón, hreppstjóri, Rósa, Finna, Hallbera |
| Setting: | Iceland |
| Literary Awards: | Premi Llibreter de narrativa Nominee (2005) |
Halldór Laxness
Paperback | Pages: 482 pages Rating: 4.17 | 8603 Users | 1203 Reviews
Specify Based On Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
| Title | : | Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4) |
| Author | : | Halldór Laxness |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 482 pages |
| Published | : | January 14th 1997 by Vintage (first published 1934) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Historical. Historical Fiction. Literature |
Chronicle Supposing Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
This magnificent novel—which secured for its author the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature—is at last available to contemporary American readers. Although it is set in the early twentieth century, it recalls both Iceland's medieval epics and such classics as Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter. And if Bjartur of Summerhouses, the book's protagonist, is an ordinary sheep farmer, his flinty determination to achieve independence is genuinely heroic and, at the same time, terrifying and bleakly comic. Having spent eighteen years in humiliating servitude, Bjartur wants nothing more than to raise his flocks unbeholden to any man. But Bjartur's spirited daughter wants to live unbeholden to him. What ensues is a battle of wills that is by turns harsh and touching, elemental in its emotional intensity and intimate in its homely detail. Vast in scope and deeply rewarding, Independent People is simply a masterpieceRating Based On Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
Ratings: 4.17 From 8603 Users | 1203 ReviewsJudgment Based On Books Independent People (Sjálfstætt fólk #1-4)
What makes Halldór Laxnesss writing looks so terrific is his ability to create and manage every plainspoken and quotidian detail of domestic life feel epic. The overall feeling is of sorrow, darkness and solitude as if you are caught in the shack on the beach and all you can hear outside is the raging ocean waves. But when o-my-god-moment comes, you can feel the epicnessas it happens on every page. If any book can whip your soul back like a wind off the sea, this is it.Ah. The humour and theI kept waiting, waiting, for Bjartur Jonsson to break from his character. Not about his politics, which were entirely pragmatic. And not about his essential philosophy, that a man must be independent and reliant on no one. But surely to his family. Surely there would be one wife or a child that would turn his soul - when one has a flower. There were moments, or more precisely near-moments. And you could read into the text, I suppose, and believe that he actually had a moment when he loved a
In 874 CE a Norwegian chieftain, Ingólfr Arnarson, became the first permanent settler on the island that came to be known as Iceland. Ah, truly an independent man! One cant help but think that Gudbjartur of Summerhouses, the dominant character in Halldor Laxness Independent People, would have approved of such a state of affairs. As the novel begins, Bjartur has purchased his own piece of land, after working, for eighteen years, for the Bailiff. This is, despite the measly nature of the land and
Little did I foresee that I would warm up to Bjartur, the roguish farmer, the more stubborn than a mule protagonist that Laxness chooses to construct this Icelandic epic around.Far from the national hero the title might suggest, the reader meets a curmudgeon, an ostensibly querulous peasant who is obsessed with earning his freedom at all costs. He never indulges in kindness and expects his family to break their backs to achieve his goal: owning a farmstead and a flock of sheep that are his means
Better Red Than DeadEntering into Independent People with no introduction, one could be forgiven for thinking it a merely charming review of early 20th century Icelandic culture, an update of the sagas and a chronicle of the rugged life of the North. Laxness apparently promotes this in his opening paragraphs with his references to local legends of Norse colonisers, Celtic demons, and the various Icelandic myths of national origin. He describes a timeless scene, ...the centuries lie side by side
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 preoccupied with sheep because
It's a great novel about class, personal liberty, capitalism and hope for the future and you missed the bleeding lot.
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