Jon Kalman Stefansson

Fiction 2005/ 249 pages

As I recover from cancer treatment, and then five nights in the hospital, my friends keep sending me books to read!  This short one is from Pam.  Thank you!

For me, the gift wasn't the eight short stories from a village in Iceland with 400 people.  It is about Stefansson's writing.  His writing just flows and rolls, seemingly effortlessly.

As a matter of fact, with 400 inhabitants, I think the stories could have been more original, different life circumstances, non-traditional challenges, interesting lives, varied venues.  I am so tired of reading about Kjartan, who appears in numerous stories, over and over again. Most every short story consists of copious amounts of alcohol, even more copious amounts of sex (nearly always illicit),  ghosts, the Astronomer, and Latin.

Some variation in story would have been extremely welcome.  Yes, there were a few.  The story about the lorry driver; the post office manager who opens all the mail;  the telephone operator who likewise knows everything that is happening in town and shares it willingly.

I cannot imagine what I am about to write:

The author demonstrates flowing, exquisite, easy writing.

He also demonstrates little or no creativity.

***** Huh, will I ever write that about another author? *****

August 2025