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Under the Glacier

By Halldór Laxness
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3.54 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 3,011 ratings, 396 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Under the Glacier by Halldór Laxness is a mystical and surreal novel that follows an emissary sent by the Bishop of Iceland to investigate peculiar happenings around a remote glacier. The story explores eccentric characters, philosophical musings, and strange occurrences as the emissary delves into a world where reality and myth intertwine. It's a richly imaginative narrative filled with humour and existential questions.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate stories that blend the surreal with the philosophical, set against the backdrop of a mystical Icelandic landscape. It's an intriguing choice for those who relish quirky narratives that explore the absurdities of life and human nature with wit and depth. With its unique characters and contemplative storytelling, it may appeal to readers who are drawn to allegorical tales that unfurl in imaginative ways.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Darkly funny and surprising novel about superstition and religion in an isolated Icelandic town. With an introduction from Susan Sontag.

'Wildly original, morose, uproarious... It is also one of the funniest books ever written' Susan Sontag

A naive young man is sent by the bishop of Iceland to investigate a small town that has reportedly lost its faith. The church is boarded up, and the errant pastor lives with a woman who is not his wife. He has also allowed a corpse to be lodged in the glacier. So the rumours go.

What he discovers is a community that regards itself as the centre of the world - earthly yet otherworldly, banal yet astonishing. Brimming with humour, mystery, and the supernatural, this is a surprising and moving novel from the Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author.

Under the Glacier

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SUSAN SONTAG

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Under the Glacier is celebrated for its immense charm and its unique style, distinguishing itself from other works by Laxness. The novel is noted for its deadpan humour, capturing the quirky spirit of its northern setting. It combines whimsy with chaos, offering a hilarious yet thought-provoking journey into Laxness's rich imagination.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784877613

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 February 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Susan Sontag

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 219g

Pages: 272

Collections

Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction Halldór Laxness Humour Literary Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Halld r Laxness (Author) Halld r Laxness (1908-98) was born near Reykjavik, Iceland. His first novel was published when he was seventeen. The undisputed master of contemporary Icelandic fiction and one of the outstanding novelists of the twentieth-century, he wrote more than sixty books. Laxness was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955. Susan Sontag (Introducer) Susan Sontag is the author of four novels, The Benefactor, Death Kit, The Volcano Lover and In America which won the National Book Award, 2000. She is also the author of I, etcetera, a collection of stories; several plays, including Alice in Bed; and five works of non-fiction, among them On Photography and Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors. She died in 2004.

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