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Title	:	Iceland's Bell
Author	:	Halldór Laxness
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 425 pages
Published	:	October 14th 2003 by Vintage (first published 1943)
Categories	:	Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. European Literature. Scandinavian Literature

Iceland's Bell

Halldór Laxness

Paperback | Pages: 425 pages

Rating: 3.89 | 1697 Users | 129 Reviews

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Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always captivating, Iceland’s Bell by Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness is at once an updating of the traditional Icelandic saga and a caustic social satire. At the close of the 17th century, Iceland is an oppressed Danish colony, suffering from extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon Hreggvidsson makes an improper joke about the Danish king and soon after finds himself a fugitive charged with the murder of the king’s hangman. In the years that follow, the hapless but resilient rogue Hreggvidsson becomes a pawn entangled in political and personal conflicts playing out on a far grander scale. Chief among these is the star-crossed love affair between Snaefridur, known as “Iceland’s Sun,” a beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and Arnas Arnaeus, the king’s antiquarian, an aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen. As their personal struggle plays itself out on an international stage, Iceland’s Bell creates a Dickensian canvas of heroism and venality, violence and tragedy, charged with narrative enchantment on every page.

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Original Title:	Íslandsklukkan
ISBN:	1400034256 (ISBN13: 9781400034253)
Edition Language:	English
Characters:	Jon Hreggvidsson, Arnas Arnaeus, Snaefridur, Magnus Sigurdsson
Setting:	Iceland
Literary Awards:	American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Prize (2001)

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Ratings: 3.89 From 1697 Users | 129 Reviews

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I was captivated by this vivid picture of Iceland of the later medieval period, its common folks, fighting for mere survival, the local aristocrats often not doing much better, the grip of their colonial overlords and peculiar dealings of the medieval church. Although I normally prefer more laconic sentences, I enjoyed well crafted Halldor's language, perhaps because it better suited the impossibly flowery, obscure and mannered way of talking used by the aristocracy and clergy of the day. I

This book was totally absorbing. It sounds boring, but isn't. Give it a shot- you won't regret it!

There are several Icelands in history. Best known is the Iceland of the Vikings, roughly from the time of settlement in the 9th century to the transfer of the country to the Norwegian King Haakon in the 13th century. Then we skip the better part of a millennium to come to the hip modern Iceland, land of the runtur and of bankruptcy. In between those two extremes was the Iceland of poverty and servitude. The Danes took over Iceland from the Norwegians and installed their merchants, gifting them

I don't know how to describe this book. it is sort of a historical novel, but it is also part 17th century romance/thriller, though these are really inadequate descriptors. the story may not seem that thrilling or romantic, unless the reader can get down with the harsh reality of iceland under the danish boot. the harsh conditions described by Laxness are that which constitute the culture and its history that he is also describing. this makes the characters and the story interesting. the

I found Iceland's Bell to be a remarkable novel, comparable in power, scope and beauty to a classic like One Hundred Years of Solitude, Dead Souls or War and Peace. It is the story of life in a brutally oppressed arctic colony, so it is certainly filled with suffering and misery. But the quality of the time and place emerges clearly from its pages, enriched by distinctive and engaging individuals. The individual stories interact with the larger history beautifully, never losing sight of the

This is based on Iceland's sagas, which I wasn't familiar with, as well as Iceland's history which I also wasn't familiar with. It was a difficult dense read for me and honestly took about 60 pages to even understand what was happening. And then I found myself in a wonderful story. Still very dense to read but was well worth it. The three books in this book were originally published as three separate books.

I've never read a better historical novel, free of anachronisms and sentimentality, witty yet never 'light history,' as are too many historical novels written these days. Laxness writes such vivid, complex characters and depiction of life in the 17th century, when Iceland was under the heel of the Danes -- scorned in every way yet unbowed. The narrative sags in places, but is well worth one's patience. Joh Hreggvissson, Snaefridur, Arnas Arnaeus, are all unforgettable. I will be reading more