Off to Romania.

Back to good old socialilst / former socialist countries. Herta Muller won the prize in 2009, just last year, she was born in Romania and now lives in London, in case anybody wants to meet her in person.



This book is odd. It’s the first book I’ve ever read in which not a single question is ended with a question mark. It gives everything a sense of dejection, very much in tune with the book itself. An example: “And what about the ring.” Instead of: “And what about the ring?” The question mark makes you think the person is engaged, really wants to know the answer, while the question without it makes you think the person doesn’t care anymore, the question is an after-thought, a non-issue. Well, it’s not fortuitous, the entire book is like that, it shows you life from the perspective of somebody that doesn’t really care, that used to care, but not anymore. The death of her closest friends, the political intrigues of the socialist regime, endless interrogations (she’s suspected as a spy) and an alcoholic life-partner have sucked the joy away from her life.



This book is like an abstract painting. If you like them you would like this book. It’s really not my favorite, but I do recommend it.



Off to England and one of the men I admire the most: Sir Winston Churchill. Yes, he won the Nobel prize, too, but one that actually counts!

Sub-prime mortgage crisis in turn-of-the-century Iceland

So I read Halldor Laxness’ “Independent People”. It’s about a man, Bjarthur of Sommerhouses, that spends his entire life trying to be independent. Of everything. Of landlords, God, wants, needs, love, everything. He holds independence as the highest and truest value a man can attain.


Honestly, the book is not that much to talk about. He Raises sheep, 95% of the book is about sheep. The most interesting part is when, late into his life, he decides to build a house. Iceland is doing really well because of world war I, when apparently, they were supplying the rest of Europe with goods. Bjarthur is doing really well in this environment so he goes to the savings and loan company and asks for a mortgage loan… you know where this is going. They lend him the money, happily, and then the sheep market crashes after the end of the war, Bjarthur can’t sell his sheep, he defaults on his mortgage and the bank forecloses. So the issue is not new, people have been getting themselves under water for more than a century, almost two, actually.

Other than this, the book is good because of its imagery and descriptions of Iceland, you almost feel cold as you’re reading it, so if you’re interested in learning about a little known place, certainly learning about Iceland in a non-transportation related way (remember the volcano that halted flights all over Europe?) this is a good book. It’s not up-lifting, it won’t make you feel good, but you will remember the characters and end up feeling like they are personal acquaintances.

I liked it well enough, but I’m not dying to read another of Halldor’s books any time soon.