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response 297 of 298:
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Aug 8 20:24 UTC 2007 |
_Under the Glacier_ by Halldor Laxness (published in Icelaandic as
_Christianity at Glacier_, 1968).
Under the Glacier is a tale of a deputy (Embi) to the Lutheran Bishop of
Reykjavik (Iceland), who is sent to a somewhat remote part of Iceland, the
town of Glacier on Iceland's Snaefellness <"snowy peninsula">, just below
Snaefellsjokull <"snowy mountain glacier">. (The mountain is one of the
most famous sites of Iceland, primarily due to the novel Journey to the
Center of the Earth (1864), written by the French author Jules Verne, in
which the protagonists find the entrance to a passage leading to the
center of the earth on Snaefellsjokull).
Although set in the 60's, Glacier is still pretty remote. Embi was sent to
Glacier to report on rumors of some problems with the church there;
apparently services no longer being held, the church boarded up, the
graveyard neglected, a body allegedly transported in a coffin to and left
on the glacier, and the pastor no longer performing his ecclesiastical
duties. This turns out to be the case. Embi (= "Em-basador of the Bi-shop)
interviews numerous locals in these regards. This book is a record of the
notes and tape-recordings taken by Embi.
The English translation is by Magnus Magnusseon, and this edition was
published by Vintage International, with an introduction by Susan Sontag.
Here is what Sontag said of the book in the Introduction:
"A marvelous novel about the most ambitious questions....It is one
of the funniest books ever written."
There is certainly an odd cast of characters engaged in odd pursuits (the
Pastor repairs Primuses, and does other odd jobs around the area). They
also engage in rambling philosophical discussions.
The coffin put on the glacier is in the end brought down - and turns out
to be a sealed metal box containing, frozen in ice, a large salmon.
Why...you will have to read the book to discover. Oh...there is also a
love interest, of sorts.
I read the book because we visited Iceland last year, and we have been
indulging in books and movies by Icelandic authors both before and since
the two-week trip. Our trip is recorded in slides in two subalbums, at
http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n154/ranecurl/ There are several views
of Snaefellsjokull in the series.
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