Iceland is built on a foundation of literature which has consist- ently recorded the feuds, parliaments and farming disputes since settlers first reached Iceland’s shores and the sagas hold a dear place in the country’s cultural history. Halldór Laxness dominates the contemporary literary scene, whose work is characterized by an extra dry, sarcastic humour and a lot of weirdness. There are a number of novels that have recently been translated into English. Icelandic books are very expensive even though the country publishes more books per capita than any other nation. Some are also still hard to get hold of outside the country but should be able to be imported through major bookshops. BiographiesMcDonnell, Evelyn, Army of She: Icelandic, Iconoclastic, Irrepressible Björk (2001), Random House. Spiky, punky and quick-fire autobiography of Iceland’s most famous face. Contemporary fictionGuðmundsson, Einar Már, Angels of the Universe (1997) St Martin’s Press. Translation. Ethereal modern Icelandic of spirituality and nature recently made into a film that will take your breath away. Helgason, H, 101 Reykjavík (2002), Faber & Faber. Hilarious hip tale of lesbianism, suicide, the futility of life, and the bars and clubs of the city. Recently turned into an award-winning film. Kárason, E, Devil’s Island (2000), Canongate Books. Rural sentiments and ways of life clash harshly with the Americans who descend on the Keflavík Airbase in Iceland. Laxness, H, Independent People (2001), Harvill Press. Halldór Laxness won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955 for this outstanding novel about a farmer’s struggle against the ele- ments and other forces in the unforgiving countryside of Iceland. Highly recommended. By the same author are: Paradise Reclaimed (2002), Vintage Books USA; and The Fish Can Sing (2001), Harvill Press, in which a young Icelandic boy is caught up in the celebrity of an Icelandic musician who makes it big abroad and becomes a local hero. Ólafsson, Ó, The Journey Home, (2001), Anchor Books. An Icelandic woman working in England in the late fifties decides to leave the country to seek her land of birth. A moving tale of homecoming. TraveloguesArmitage, S, and Maxwell, G, Moon Country (1996), Faber & Faber. Head and shoulders above the few travelogues available on the country, poets Armitage and Maxwell trace the steps of WH Auden around the country and find much to write about. Moore, T, Frost on My Moustache (2000), Abacus. Lad-mag writer Moore treks around Iceland following the path of the Marquess of Dufferin, a Victorian sailor who sailed to Iceland and the Arctic Circle in 1856. Occasionally amusing. Photographic booksSigurjónsson, S, Lost in Iceland (2002), Forlagið Publishing. Beautiful book of photography showing Iceland’s varied and rich environment. The best of a large number of tourist/coffee table books available. HistoryByock, J L, Viking Age Iceland, (2001), Penguin. History, archaeology and anthropology blended to re-evaluate Viking behaviour and challenge long-held notions that they were merely violent and unsophisticated. Hjálmarsson, J R, History of Iceland: from the Settlement to the Present Day, (1993), Iceland Review. Bite-size, readable history of the country. Karlsson, G, Iceland’s 1100 Years: History of a marginal society, (2000), Mál og Menning. Detailed account of the growth of the nation, particularly its oppression and poverty. The Icelandic SagasMore than a collection of old stories glorifying the Viking past, the Icelandic sagas are a work of medieval art, the cornerstone of the country’s culture and a piece of living history. While shamelessly hamming up aspects of the raiding, trading and gold-hoarding Nordic travellers, these calfskin manuscripts have lovingly preserved familial bonds through their genealogies and have given a relatively recent culture a full documentation of their history from the first settler onwards. Although not 100 percent reliable in terms of historical fact – they are a dramatisation of events after all – the sagas have played a major role in establishing genetic links among the family-tree hunting Icelanders and the director of a Reykjavik genetics institute has even traced his own ancestory back to Égill Skallagrímsson. Historians have used the vivid period detail to recreate the Viking’s vengeful world and there is no finer way to involve yourself in the ancient world than to step back a thousand years with one of the excellent translations. Reykjavik’s excellent Saga Museum and Árni Magnússon Institute can also take your interest further. Various, Sagas of Icelanders (2000), Penguin. This is the full authoritative collection of the Icelandic sagas translated into English. Listed below are three of the most gripping sagas available singly – stories of Viking raids, attacks, revenge and buried treasure. Cook, R, Njal’s Saga (2001), Penguin Classics. Translation. Written by an unknown 13th century author, Njal’s Saga is one of the classics of the genre. The tale centres on a fifty year feud and the prophetic figure of Njal Þorgeirsson who comes to a bitter end. Family honour, integrity and the revenge culture are fully explored in this depiction of a society who created their own social laws with a punishment of death for all infringements. Edwards, P, and Pálsson, H, Égill’s Saga (1976), Penguin Classics. Translation. If you only ever read one saga, read the Saga of Égill. His story begins with his life as an unruly and murderous child, seemingly born into the body of an older boy, who rapidly becomes a well-respected Viking warrior. Égill uses his gift of poetry to get him off the hook when he is sentenced to death. Even at his eventual death he has the last laugh, riding off into the distance to bury his gold. He’s a complex character and the story is somewhere between a Viking romp and an epic work of poetry. Faulkes, Anthony and Johnston, George Three Icelandic Outlaw Sagas: The Saga of Gisli, The Saga of Grettir, The Saga of Hord (2001), Phoenix Press. Translation. Three stories of epic adventure with the common theme of the outlaw at their heart. Grettir is a typically impetuous and very likeable character, Hord is an orphan and Gisli wields a sword called Greyflank. If you’ve ever wondered where the Icelandic love of the underdog originated, examine these outsiders closely and you’ll find out. Magnusson, M, and Pálsson, H, Laxdæla Saga (1976), Penguin Classics. Translation. While many narrative threads intertwine in the Laxdæla Saga, the most striking is that of the beautiful daughter of Gudrun Osvif who is forced to marry the best friend of her true love. The scenario and its tragic denoument owe much to European chivalric literature of the early medieval period, but the violence and strength at the heart of the female character is typically Icelandic. In this society, women are at least equal to men. Magnusson, M, and Pálsson, H, The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America, Grænlendinga Saga, Eirik’s Saga (1965), Penguin Classics. Translation. Five hundred years before Christopher Columbus, Leif the Lucky discovered Vinland, thought to have been Newfoundland. Like his father Erik the Red before him, Leif was an inspirational explorer and the Vinland Sagas tell the stories of Leif, Erik and their discovery and travel through the unexplored territories of Greenland and the North American Continent. LanguageIcelandic is spoken by less than 300,000 people worldwide and Icelanders are rightly proud of their language. But it’s a tricky language to master and because so few foreigners speak it the locals find it hard to understand the words spoken in a foreign accent, so it's often much easier to speak English. TV, films and music all mean that English is spoken near perfectly here, but there's little danger of the Icelandic language dying out itself. Committees are put together to prevent the language from absorbing non-native words so when new technologies reach the country new compound words are created from older saga words for them. Telephone, for example, is simi, meaning a thread; TV is sjónvarp, meaning thrown picture and computer is tölva, meaning prophetess of numbers. A few basic words and phrases are given below, with a pronounciation guide in parenthesis. If you want to learn the language your options are limited. Even when you have mastered the complex grammatical system – a bit like German and also Swedish – you’ll find that most Icelanders speak English and that the language is only used by little over 300,000 people in the world today. Still, there is an undeniable poetry in the closest surviving relative to the Viking language, Old Norse, and the small selection of primers are thankfully not too unwieldy or over-complicated. Glendening, PJT, Teach Yourself Icelandic (1993), Hodder and Stoughton. Useful lesson-based book for beginner students of the written language. Neijmann, Daisy L, Colloquial Icelandic: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series). Comprehensive tape, CD and textbook-based course based on spoken everyday Icelandic. Lessons and exercises lead you through the basics as a beginner towards a thorough understanding of the language.
Berlitz Scandinavian Cassette Pack (1996). 75 minute cassette and phrase book covering the (very) basics of Icelandic in addition to Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. Learn to say “Stop thief!” and “I’d like a hot chocolate” in five Scandinavian languages.A quick guide to pronunciation. Icelandic is not an easy language to pronounce and nothing sounds quite as it looks on the page. This is a brief guide to the key differences between English and Icelandic ways of pronouncing letters. A ah Á ow Ð/ð eth, pronounced like th in the I ea Í ee L chlh, similar to the Welsh pronunciation of ll R always rolled Þ thorn, pronounced like th in think Æ ai Ö oeah Basic words and phrases Good morning Góðan dag/Gott daginn (Go-athan dach/gott dayinn) Goodbye Bless (Bless) Yes Já (Yow) No Nei (Neigh) Thanks Takk fyrir/ Takk (Takk firir) Excuse me/sorry Afsakið (Af-sah-kith) Do you speak english? Talarðu ensku? (Tal-ar-oo ensku) I don't know Ég skil ekki (Yeg skil ekki) Where is..? Hvar er…? (Kvar er) Can you help me? Geturðu hjálpað mér? (Get-urthu heyalpath mier) What's the time? Hvað er klukkan? (Kvath er klukkan) How much does… cost? Hvað kostar..? (Kvath kostar) Where is the bathroom? Hvar er klósettið? (Kvar er klausettith) When does…open? Hvernær opnar…? (Kvertner opnar) When does… close? Hvernær lokar…? (Kvertner lokkar) I would like… Ég ætla að fá… (Yeg etla ath fow) Emergencies Help! Hjálp! (Heyowlp!) I feel ill Mér líður illa (Mier lee-thur itla) I need a doctor Ég þarf lækni (Yeg tharf like-ni) Eating out I don’t eat meat Ég borða ekki kjöt (Yeg bortha ekki kjoht) What do you want to drink? Hvað viltu drekka? (Kvath viltoo drekka) A beer please Bjórglas, takk (Be-or glass takk) Cheers! Skál! (Scowl!) Icelandic specialities Svið Singed sheep’s head Sviðasulta Sheep's head jelly/paté Hangikjöt Smoked lamb Blóðmör Black pudding Lifrapylsa Liver pudding Ýmis súrmatur Various soured meats Selshreifar Seal’s flipper Hrútspungar Ram’s testicles Saltkjöt Salted lamb Flatkökur, flatbrauð Rye pancakes, flatbread Hákarl Rotten shark Harðfiskur Dried fish, often cod Skyr Thick yoghurt Ávaxtaskyr Skyr with fruit Kjöt Meat Lamb Lamb Naut Beef Svín Pork Folald Foal Hreindýr Reindeer Hamborgarhryggur Smoked saddle of pork London lamb Lightly smoked lamb Kjötfars Sausage meat, meatballs Hryggvöðvi (filé) Fillet Súpakjöt Meat stew Skinka Ham Beikon Bacon Saltkjöt Salted meat Reykt kjöt Smoked meat Kálfasneið Veal schnitzel Hangikjöt Smoked lamb Pylsur Sausages Fuglar Birds Rjúpa Ptarmigan Lundi Puffin Reyktur Lundi Smoked Puffin Svartfugl Guillemot Kjúklingur Chicken Hænuegg Hen’s egg Svartfuglsegg Seabird’s egg Andaregg Duck’s egg Fiskur Fish Ýsa Haddock Þorskur Cod Lúða Halibut Sandhverfa Turbot Skarholi Plaice Karfi Redfish Skata Skate Skötuselur Monkfish Steinbítur Catfish Langa Ling Rauðmagi Lumpfish Síld Herring Saltfiskur Salt cod or haddock Lax Salmon Silungur Trout Bleikja Arctic char Áll Eel Hörpuskel Scallop Kræklingur Mussel Humar Lobster Rækja Shrimp Fruit and vegetables Eppli Apple Appelsina Orange Jarðarber Strawberry Tómatur Tomato Vinber Grapes Baunir Beans or peas Laukur Onion Kartöflur Potatoes Drinks Té Tea Kaffee Coffee Mjölk Milk Bjór Beer Hvít vín White wine Rauð vín Red wine Gos Fizzy drink (or volcanic eruption) Vatn Water Other Kaka Cake Brauð Bread Samloka Sandwich Sykkur Sugar Ís Ice cream Súpa Soup
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