Iceland's Bell is an ambitious, sprawling historical novel from the Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness. It takes place in the early 18th century during a particularly dark period in Iceland's history: the country suffered under Danish oppression, famine, and a smallpox outbreak that killed a third of the population. It's a comedy!
The book tells one story, but is divided into three major sections, each with its own protagonist and signature style. The first section is a picaresque that follows the farmer and alleged murderer Jón Hreggviðsson as he escapes to northern Europe and has colorful adventures on the road to visit the King in Denmark. The second section tells the story of the beautiful Snæfríður Íslandssól, her dissolute husband, and her love for a powerful envoy from the Danish crown. This section alternates between Shakespearean comic set pieces (involving the husband) and scenes that mimic the style of Icelandic sagas (including trolls and elves). The final section plunges deeply into political and legal intrigue, featuring the aforementioned Danish envoy and the Danish King looking to sell Iceland to German merchants. These characters are apparently all real people, burnished by Laxness into an allegory about Iceland's national spirit.
True to its stylistic models, Iceland's Bell does not delve into the minds or motivations of its characters. Nevertheless, Snæfríður and Arnas (the envoy) are remarkably interesting and complex. They both find their sympathies divided between the aristocracy and the common folk, between mercy and justice.
I pity the Icelandic middle-schoolers who read Iceland's Bell in class. The legal wrangling is interminable (especially near the end), and I wouldn't expect teenagers to appreciate Laxness' mock heroic and satirical tone; I'm sure most of them would find it a slog.
The book tells one story, but is divided into three major sections, each with its own protagonist and signature style. The first section is a picaresque that follows the farmer and alleged murderer Jón Hreggviðsson as he escapes to northern Europe and has colorful adventures on the road to visit the King in Denmark. The second section tells the story of the beautiful Snæfríður Íslandssól, her dissolute husband, and her love for a powerful envoy from the Danish crown. This section alternates between Shakespearean comic set pieces (involving the husband) and scenes that mimic the style of Icelandic sagas (including trolls and elves). The final section plunges deeply into political and legal intrigue, featuring the aforementioned Danish envoy and the Danish King looking to sell Iceland to German merchants. These characters are apparently all real people, burnished by Laxness into an allegory about Iceland's national spirit.
True to its stylistic models, Iceland's Bell does not delve into the minds or motivations of its characters. Nevertheless, Snæfríður and Arnas (the envoy) are remarkably interesting and complex. They both find their sympathies divided between the aristocracy and the common folk, between mercy and justice.
I pity the Icelandic middle-schoolers who read Iceland's Bell in class. The legal wrangling is interminable (especially near the end), and I wouldn't expect teenagers to appreciate Laxness' mock heroic and satirical tone; I'm sure most of them would find it a slog.
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