My sister and I were lucky enough to visit Iceland with our families this summer. She’d heard Icelandic fiction is really good (no specifics on genre) and so she had to stop by a bookstore to find one. We browsed and I picked one out, *Salka Valka,* that seemed interesting based on the synopsis so we each bought a copy. It turned out to be written in the early 1900s, is a bit racist and homophobic, and is kind of a slog to get through. I feel really bad that I messed up her one chance to get something great, so I’m hoping to gift her a better book for Christmas.
Any ideas? TYIA!
by TrainwreckMooncake
1 Comment
I suggest you may be misreading *Salka Valka*. The Nobel committee got it right giving Laxness the prize. Try his other books, they’re all quite different.
There are a few modern crime writers – Yrsa Sigurdadottir, Arnaldur Indriðason. For a country with a near zero murder rate they’re rather good at it.
https://crimefictionlover.com/2020/09/six-icelandic-crime-authors-you-should-be-reading/
The sagas are fantastic. Try *Njal’s Saga*.