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Reply to a Letter from Helga

Bergsveinn Birgisson,

Philip Roughton (Translator)

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What Members Thought

Jul 28, 2013 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: read2013, cold-weather-islands, location-iceland, novella, around-the-world

I'm not surprised I had not heard of this author, as this is his only work translated into English so far. It was a happy accident that I saw it on the new books shelf at the public library.

The book is in the form of a letter, from an old man to the love of his life, recently deceased, explaining his regrets and his perspective. It is heavily couched in Icelandic mythology and folklore, and while I didn't get all the references, there is a nice glossary helping to draw the connections. I'd love I'm not surprised I had not heard of this author, as this is his only work translated into English so far. It was a happy accident that I saw it on the new books shelf at the public library.

The book is in the form of a letter, from an old man to the love of his life, recently deceased, explaining his regrets and his perspective. It is heavily couched in Icelandic mythology and folklore, and while I didn't get all the references, there is a nice glossary helping to draw the connections. I'd love to go back someday and read some of the old sagas.

I kept thinking of The Old Man and His Sons, which while about the Faroe Islands, has a similar feeling. The old way described in unappealing but nostalgic ways (why did we ever stop washing our hair in urine?), the shift toward a commercialized, city-based culture as the traditional arts fade out, and a reluctance to leave what is deeply ingrained as "home."

There are also a few shocking revelations if you read well enough between the lines.

There is an interesting discussion on the intelligence of the sheep farmers, who used to have rousing discussion during late winter evenings. Another reviewer pointed out this article on the Icelandic reading tradition so perhaps despite the narrator's concern, reading and discussion has continued to be important, but perhaps the perspective has shifted.

"These were people who had come up with their own meaning of life. They were instinctively clever, because no school had told them how to think. They thought for themselves. Such people are gone now, and I scarcely believe they raise them in Reykjavik nowadays."

A few quotes about the relationship the letter is about:
"You two are the only religion I've ever had."

"I've loved you only to live in anguish and an intentional lovelessness. That the distance from you kindled a longing for closeness, but as soon as that closeness was offered, I withdrew and would sacrifice nothing!"

The art in the panels before each chapter is gorgeous, from an Icelandic artist Kjartan Hallur. The art has a feeling of harkening back to the old too, so it seems very fitting for the book. This is one example:

...more

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Apr 30, 2013 mussolet rated it it was ok

Shelves: region-europe, read-notmine-c

"The thing is, this is how everything that's been built up in Icelandic culture is bungled; folk go abroad and learn some damned rubbish that has nothing to do with Iceland, but try in the name of the latest fashion to do everything they can to spoil and wreck the distinctive features that have developed here."

This is my second book by an Icelandic author after a less than successful experiment last year with Halldòr Laxness' Iceland's Bell. (My review can be found here.) And maybe farmer Bjarni

"The thing is, this is how everything that's been built up in Icelandic culture is bungled; folk go abroad and learn some damned rubbish that has nothing to do with Iceland, but try in the name of the latest fashion to do everything they can to spoil and wreck the distinctive features that have developed here."

This is my second book by an Icelandic author after a less than successful experiment last year with Halldòr Laxness' Iceland's Bell. (My review can be found here.) And maybe farmer Bjarni's statement above is also true the other way round, seeing how this book didn't work for me either.

Bjarni reflects back on his life, and his love affair with Helga. There is a sense of the inevitable, like life couldn't have happened any other way. And it felt a bit miserable to me when I read it, even though Bjarni comments on how he feels he's done alright. This is the same feeling I got from Laxness' story, and I can't help wondering whether it is something about the Icelandic literature that I don't get. "Reply to a Letter from Helga" comes with annotations about quoted works from Icelandic history, and I don't like the sound of those either.

That being said, one can learn a lot (A LOT!) about rural life in Iceland. Bjarni was born to be a sheep farmer, and his love for the country life goes far enough that he uses farming metaphors even when describing his lover.

"The vision of you naked in the sunbeams was refreshing to the eye, like a blossom on a bare cliff ledge. I really have nothing to compare to this sight. The best I can think of is when the Farmall arrived, when I pulled the crate and cardboard off the tractor and beheld the shining glory that would revolutionize our lives. See how paltry I am in my mind, dear Helga, likening you, young and naked, to a tractor."

If you can deal with that, then I suppose it is a good book for you, because you will get to experience life within a tiny Icelandic farming community, from WWII through to installing televisions in the countryside. And the annotations are really informative as well, and allow for a deeper experience of the book once you've gone through them. But for me, that was not enough to make me like it.

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This is part of my "238 books in 238 days"-challenge. You can follow my progress here. ...more

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