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Rökkurbýsnir (2008)

by Sjón(Favorite Author)

3.48 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

9979657472 (ISBN13: 9789979657477)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Bjartur

review 1: The Whispering Muse hinted at the kind of wild, hallucinatory epic Sjón was capable of (cleverly restrained in that particular novel), and he lets loose with it in From The Mouth of the Whale. Mythology, Christian epic, natural history, medieval Icelandic history and the whole, wide, boundless mind of a banished healer/visionary/poet are among the elements that make up this strange and haunting novel. Told mostly from his exile on a lonely island in 1635, Jonas Palmason's scattered, hungry thoughts weave folkore, superstition, science and Christian lore into a massive tapestry reflecting all the inner workings of the world. His life is almost ceaselessly tragic and his trials heartbreaking, the world around him cruel and ignorant, yet through the wild, endless flow of fai... moreth and almost animistic mystical experience he records and transcends his trials.From The Mouth of the Whale is an absolutely transporting read, almost prose poetry at times as Palmason's thoughts run wild and his visions unfold. Sjón uses beautifully lyrical passages, humor and great tenderness to hold the human element of the novel steady at its core, however -- no matter how far afield it goes, it never sacrifices heart and is as moving and soulful as it is strange and daring. Even with his playful echo of Moby Dick's much-derided 'natural history' diversions, Sjón brings great depth and humanity to the dark and forbidding world his visionary protagonist is determined to illuminate.
review 2: I've rarely read something that both kept my interest throughout and yet on which I have almost no opinion. There were some good moments, passages I might want to glance over again later, but I have no real thoughts about what would motivate the writing of this particular book in this particular style. It felt like a book that was very local to Iceland in some way that was beyond me. Perhaps that was its main appeal. less

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