Jón Kalman Stefánsson
Hardcover | Pages: 316 pages Rating: 4.27 | 1446 Users | 196 Reviews
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| Original Title: | Harmur englanna |
| ISBN: | 9979657669 (ISBN13: 9789979657668) |
| Edition Language: | Icelandic |
| Series: | Heaven and Hell Trilogy #2 |
| Setting: | Iceland |
| Literary Awards: | Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Nominee for Longlist (2014), International Dublin Literary Award Nominee for Longlist (2015) |
Representaion In Favor Of Books Harmur englanna (Heaven and Hell Trilogy #2)
The epic journey of survival against all odds that moulds the identity of the nameless boy continues in this second installment of Stéfansson’s trilogy, setting the perfect foreground tone for the fiercest struggle between man and the hostile wilderness of the Icelandic remote lands. Divided in two main sections; the youthful main character ponders about the value of literature, getting more acquainted with it in the first part of the narration and missing it acutely in the second one, where the extreme weather conditions become the main protagonist of the story, befogging the voice of the omniscient narrator with inner monologue, tragicomic dialogue and the incantatory poetry that breathes life into the menacing yet wondrous presence of the landscape that consumes it all. The boundaries separating Heaven and Hell, Sky and Earth, the Living and the Dead, dissipate into a muddled blankness that evokes the oblivion of non-being. What is the use of printed pages in the face of the unbearable iciness that benumbs hearts and drowns men in the depths of the Polar Sea? Why read Milton, Shakespeare or Dickens if the whiteness of the snow will end up blinding those who dare to question, who dare to look out? And yet Jens the postman puts his life in danger to deliver letters, written words, at the end of the world, where angels weep tears of sorrow that coat slopes, gullies and ridges with whitewash made of gelid blizzards and biting snowflakes. Humanity is reduced to nothingness in front of the inexorable forces of nature that create and destroy in their wake. Surely, the hazardous trip that boy and man embark on together to make a special delivery is a metaphor for mankind's pursuit of answers to fight against absurdity, to infuse meaning into a seemingly pointless existence, presented through the dual prism of Stéfansson’s artistry. The inquisitive boy, whose unquenchable doubts nudge him to speak out, and the grumpy postman, who avoids words as if they were summoned by the same devil, will see their destinies irremediably intertwined in a mission that might shake the ground of their deeply rooted beliefs not only about the importance of words, but also about the fine line separating life from death, lust from love and reality from hallucination. Stéfansson is a poet, but the lyrical hues of his darkly sensuous prose is aerated with an outstanding understanding of the human psyche, moving shrewdly between realistic narrative, folklore and myth, blending the moralistic tale with the archetypal existentialist coming-of-age story. His painstaking eye for detail draws an incredibly nuanced portrait of the Icelandic people, their precarious life conditions and the unusual mixture of coarseness and sensitivity that constitutes their collective ethos. In a place where man’s angst, fear and impotence mean nothing against the undaunted harshness of nature, a place where his dreams, yearnings and minuscule joys don’t have the slightest impact on his untamable habitat; words might be futile or they might be the rescue team that melts petrified souls lost in the maelstrom of existence back into the throbbing pain of being alive. It’s only a matter of finding the courage to give them free entrance into the core of what makes us human.Point Regarding Books Harmur englanna (Heaven and Hell Trilogy #2)
| Title | : | Harmur englanna (Heaven and Hell Trilogy #2) |
| Author | : | Jón Kalman Stefánsson |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 316 pages |
| Published | : | 2009 by Bjartur |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction |
Rating Regarding Books Harmur englanna (Heaven and Hell Trilogy #2)
Ratings: 4.27 From 1446 Users | 196 ReviewsCriticism Regarding Books Harmur englanna (Heaven and Hell Trilogy #2)
Snow. Lots of snow. And even more wind. Jón Kalman Stefánsson excels when he tells about men who cling to life. A life about survive. During terribly cold nights, in the middle of endless mountains, a young boy dreams of poetry. He dreams of words that make life beat and bring together men. During these nights, the heart of men opens itself slowly. Even the toughest men, the men who were forged by a harsh life, reveal themselves and tell about a love they had never dared to admit.Jón KalmanStill a lot of transcendent moments, but a bit of a slog to get through.
Jón Kalman Stefánsson's prose is like poetry. A splendid book.
The epic journey of survival against all odds that moulds the identity of the nameless boy continues in this second installment of Stéfanssons trilogy, setting the perfect foreground tone for the fiercest struggle between man and the hostile wilderness of the Icelandic remote lands.Divided in two main sections; the youthful main character ponders about the value of literature, getting more acquainted with it in the first part of the narration and missing it acutely in the second one, where the
"They press on in the admirable or torpid obstinacy that characterises those who live on the border of the habitable world." Sorrow of Angels is not so much a sequel to Heaven and Hell as simply the second of three volumes of the same novel by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, beautifully translated by Philip Roughton. Indeed it would be best read back-to-back, albeit the rich nature of the prose makes this a novel to be savoured in sips rather than consumed in one sitting. So much of my review could
His way of wrting is very beautiful, poetic and composed, this book is filled with wonderful passages. But I couldnt breathe, because all the pages are poetic and composed. Its just too much.
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