Sometimes grim, sometimes uproarious, and always
captivating, IcelandÉs 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
under extreme poverty, famine, and plague. A
farmer and accused cord-thief named Jon
Hreggvidsson makes a bawdy joke about the Danish
king and soon after finds himself a fugitive
charged with the murder of the kingÉs 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 ÊIcelandÉs Sun,Ë a
beautiful, headstrong young noblewoman, and
Arnas Arnaeus, the kingÉs antiquarian, an
aristocrat whose worldly manner conceals a
fierce devotion to his downtrodden countrymen.