From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

Independent People

Halldór Laxness,

James Anderson Thompson (Translator)

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 31, 2018

Discussion: International Group Read

Why we're reading this: January 2017 international group read selection.
[close] January 2017 international group read selection.

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International Group Read

* International Book Read - *NO SPOILERS* - Independent People (Jan 2018)
By Liz M · 69 posts · 38 views

last updated Jan 22, 2018 12:09PM

International Book Read - (SPOILERS allowed) Independent People Book 1 Part 1 (Jan 2018)
By Liz M · 38 posts · 28 views

last updated Feb 05, 2018 05:25PM

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What Members Thought

Jan 28, 2018 Petra rated it liked it

An odd, yet intriguing story. Bjartur's drive for independence affects his entire life and family. Their world is bleak and hard. Buried in this story is the story of Iceland. It's the farmers being exploited, the rich being rewarded. It's a hard scrabble life.
The prose is rich and deep. This isn't a book to read quickly. It requires a bit of commitment. The richness of the prose is the reward.
The story of Bjartur and his family roles out in an interesting pattern. The landscape of Iceland come ...more

25 likes · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2015 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, historical-fiction, in-translation, nordic-lit

The bleakness of the Icelandic moors reflect the bleakness of one farming family's attempt to survive over the course of 25-odd years, from the early 1900s through the Great War. It all feels a bit like a medieval nordic family saga ala Kristin Lavransdatter crossed with the politics and poverty of The Grapes of Wrath. There are "trolls" and "ghosts", lice-infested crofts, sheep and sheep and more sheep, not to mention all the worms and ailments that come with them.

The story follows Bjartur of S The bleakness of the Icelandic moors reflect the bleakness of one farming family's attempt to survive over the course of 25-odd years, from the early 1900s through the Great War. It all feels a bit like a medieval nordic family saga ala Kristin Lavransdatter crossed with the politics and poverty of The Grapes of Wrath. There are "trolls" and "ghosts", lice-infested crofts, sheep and sheep and more sheep, not to mention all the worms and ailments that come with them.

The story follows Bjartur of Summerhouses, a stubbornly independent farmer who would rather sacrifice the lives and livelihoods of himself and his family than stoop to ever in-debt himself to his neighbors. Let me say again: Bjartur of Summerhouses is a real piece of work. With the exception of perhaps two scenes, I loathed him from beginning to end of this novel. According to the introduction he is supposed to be a proud and stubborn fool, but 500 pages is a maddeningly long time to spend around him. Innumerable women and children cycle through his croft and farm as disposable labor, their lives infinitely cheaper to him than a single ewe of his flock. That's not to say he isn't a compelling character because he is, in his way, and if nothing else I suppose one might admire the consistency of his characterization. As I read, I started highlighting the very "Bjartur" things he says because his words reveal him better than my own.

Shit Bjartur says:

On refusing aid from the Women's Welfare Association: "My wife and children are mine in life and death. And it is my business, mine alone, and neither yours nor that pack of old scandalmongers' whether my children look well or not. Sooner shall all the hummocks on Summerhouses land hop up to heaven and all the bogs sink down to bottomless bloody hell than I shall renounce my independence and my rights as a man."

On new technology: "Oh, I shouldn't be surprised if most of this electricity you talk about isn't in your own backside."

When asked to comment about the plight of the Continental women during wartime: "Oh, they can always get into plenty of trouble without generals. I should say from my experience of womenfolk that most of them want to be raped, more or less."

On his favorite housekeeper: "Possibly his best course would be to marry the bitch, so that he could have full leave to tell her to shut up; or at least go to bed with her, as she herself was suggesting in her own starchy fashion."

*facepalm*

So. 500 pages of this guy. I'm not sure I could have managed if the author wasn't such a damn good writer. The descriptions are vivid, the misery visceral, and sometimes there's even humor in the form of a pastor who will always disagree with everything in conversation, or the foolish lad who trades a trip to America for an overpriced nag. But sometimes things slow down too much, or ramble on longer than an Icelandic winter. There isn't any plot driving the reader forward, just a general sense of uneasiness about what Bjartur will do next. Some of the most touching scenes involve the children on the farm, but these moments are always brief and fleeting. Still, I found it a worthwhile read and would recommend it if you can stomach Bjartur, the often-overbearing bleak atmosphere, and the cruel realities of farm-life in a harsh land. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2018 Sera rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books, favorites, library, literary-fiction

As crazy as it may sound, I really loved this book about Bjartur of Summerhouses and his quest to remain an independent farmer in late 19th century Iceland. Laxness' book put me right in the center of the rural Iceland and how people lived during that the time. Most importantly, I enjoyed reading about how the country changed economically throughout the course of the book, including how Iceland prospered during and after WWI. Bjartur is generally an unlikeable man but, as a reader, I could not h ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2018 Genia Lukin rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, historical, other

This book was... okay. I can't say it was amazing, or great, or wonderful, just, you know, okay. Partially this is a matter of being unable to sympathise with any of the characters - I didn't feel like they were real people, and, more pertinently, didn't feel like anything they did mattered to me. The only ones towards whom I felt any kind of sympathy were the poor wives that just kept dying.

The other problem is the somewhat odd style of writing, and the weird narrative choices in which big even ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

May 12, 2017 Elise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fiction, 1930s, club, translated, read-in-2017

The ultimate libertarian's struggles against everything to maintain his freedom as a sheep farmer. It sounds long and boring but it's taut and compelling (and funny, who'd have guessed). The prose amazed me and the translation is a damn feat. So sick of daddy issues and rape being used as plot devices, but the power of this book is otherwise undeniable. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2018 Rachel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, hardbooks, historical-fiction, libraryebook

Well it started out well with the mythical language and the atmosphere but it went downhill fast with the unlikeable characters. Took me way too long to read and I had to return the physical book to the library and switch to the ebook to finish it.

1 like · Like · see review