Halldór Laxness 1902-1998

Independent people : an epic by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
101 editions published between 1935 and 2008 in 16 languages and held by 2,016 libraries worldwide
" ... are the small freeholders of the Icelandic countryside--operators of the one-man, one-family farm got by inheritance or puchase and held with grim tenacity against all connivances of nature and man by folk whose ruling passion is to be their own masters on their own acres." [Dust jacket].

Iceland's bell by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
114 editions published between 1943 and 2005 in 17 languages and held by 778 libraries worldwide
In 18th century Iceland, a man becomes a fugitive after being wrongly accused of murder.

The fish can sing by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
57 editions published between 1957 and 2009 in 14 languages and held by 756 libraries worldwide
Abandonné peu après sa naissance, le jeune Alfgrimur vit au début du XXe siècle à Brekkukot, dans une ferme de tourbe située à la périphérie de Reykjavik, chez le vieux couple qui l'a recueilli et qu'il considère comme ses grands-parents. Mais sa rencontre avec un célèbre chanteur islandais, le mystérieux Gardar Holm, modifie l'horizon de son enfance.

Paradise reclaimed by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
49 editions published between 1960 and 2003 in 10 languages and held by 722 libraries worldwide
An idealistic Icelandic farmer journeys to Mormon Utah and back in search of paradise in this captivating novel by Nobel Prize winner Halldor Laxness. The quixotic hero of this long-lost classic is Steinar of Hlidar, a generous but very poor man who lives peacefully on a tiny farm in nineteenth-century Iceland with his wife and two adoring young children. When he impulsively offers his children's beloved pure-white pony to the visiting King of Denmark, he sets in motion a chain of disastrous events that leaves his family in ruins and himself at the other end of the earth, optimistically building a home for them among the devout polygamists in the Promised Land of Utah. By the time the broken family is reunited, Laxness has spun his trademark blend of compassion and comically brutal satire into a moving and spellbinding enchantment, composed equally of elements of fable and folkore and of the most humble truths.

World light (Heimsljós) by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
34 editions published between 1942 and 2003 in 7 languages and held by 711 libraries worldwide
As imagined by Nobel Prize winner Laxness in this magnificently humane novel, what might be cruel farce achieves pathos and exaltation. As his hero's ambition drives him onward, "World Light" demonstrates how the creative spirit can survive in even the most crushing environment.

The atom station by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
112 editions published between 1948 and 2010 in 17 languages and held by 610 libraries worldwide
"Laxness describes the popular reaction to an attempt by the U.S. to buy land for a nuclear base near Reykjavik. He contrasts corruption and decadence in the capital with the simple life of peasants in the north . . . Rich, lyrical prose, all expertly interpreted in the translation. Among the many vivid characters, the narrator stands out: her wit, pride, and simplicity bring to mind heroines like Jane Eyre..". -- Booklist.

Under the glacier by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
47 editions published between 1968 and 2005 in 9 languages and held by 535 libraries worldwide
The Bishop of Iceland sends an emissary to the beautiful, remote district of Snæfellsnes to investigate the affairs of its mysterious pastor.

Salka Valka by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
110 editions published between 1934 and 2008 in 16 languages and held by 397 libraries worldwide
Prosté rybářské děvče, Salka Valka, žije v zapadlé vsi na islandském pobřezí těžký život nemanželského a ještě smrtí o matku připraveného dítěte. Svými ryzími lidskými vlastnostmi, statečností, ušlechtilostí a nezlomným životnímelánem se prodírá k svému místu na světě. Román, vyšlý poprvé r. 1932, získal spisovateli (nar. 1902) světovou slávu a byl i zfilmován.

The great weaver from Kashmir by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
39 editions published between 1927 and 2008 in 6 languages and held by 352 libraries worldwide
Shortly after World War I, Steinn, a young Icelandic poet-philosopher, heads abroad to make himself the most perfect man on earth and perceive glory on the visage of things. Leaving behind his homeland and would-be sweetheart, Diljá, for Europe, Steinn proves a master of any doctrine he cares to take up, but fails to satisfy his longing for perfection.

The happy warriors by Halldór Laxness ( Book )
45 editions published between 1952 and 2010 in 10 languages and held by 189 libraries worldwide
Dans l'Islande du Moyen Age, deux jeunes gens à l'esprit fertile, Thorgeir Havarson et Thormod Bessason, élevés à la mamelle des grandes sagas héro͏ïques, se mettent en tête de devenir des héros de poèmes anciens. Ils dépouillent de pauvres pêcheurs avant de mettre leurs pas dans ceux de grotesques Vikings et de partir en Normandie et au Gro͏ënland.