Exploring Iceland: 10 books from the land of fire and ice

A list of books to read from Iceland

If you want to go way back, you could go for Njál’s saga, which was written down in the 13th century. It is the longest and most highly developed of the sagas of Icelanders, and often considered the peak of the saga tradition. It tells the compelling story of a fifty-year blood feud that, despite its distance from us in time and place, is driven by passions familiar to us all. The work is anonymous, although there has been extensive speculation on the author’s identity. The major events described in the saga are probably historical but the material was shaped by the author, drawing on oral tradition.

This magnificent novel is a classic. It is set in the early twentieth century starring an ordinary sheep farmer and his heroic determination to achieve independence. Bjartur wants nothing more than to raise his flocks of sheep free of any man. But Bjartur’s spirited daughter wants to live free of him. What ensues is a battle of wills that is by turns harsh and touching, elemental in its emotional intensity and intimate in its homely detail.

Independent People is a true masterpiece, and secured Laxness the 1955 Nobel prize in literature.

“Sometimes, in small places, life becomes bigger.“

This novel, from one of Iceland’s most beloved authors, explores the dreams and desires of the people in a village of only four hundred inhabitants. There is the beautiful, elusive Elisabet. Neighbours Kristin and Kjartan who seem … normal, but for their explosive passion that bewilders even themselves. And the most successful businessman in town who decides to ditch his Range Rover and glamorous wife in exchange for Latin books and stargazing.

Unexpected, warm, and humorous, Stefansson reveals the magic of life in all of its progress. Its complacency, its ugliness and, ultimately, Its beauty.

Growing up on a farm in early twentieth-century rural Iceland, Karitas Jónsdóttir, one of six siblings, yearns for a new life. Karitas is an artist, with a powerful calling, but she is powerless against the turns of real life and the general expectations of women. As dutiful daughter, loving mother, and fisherman’s wife, she struggles to thrive, to be what she was meant to be. This award-winning novel is a complex portrait of an artist’s conflict with love, family, nature, and country ―but most of all, with herself and the creative instincts she has no choice but to follow.

Herra Björnsson is at the beginning of the end of her life. She has two weeks left, maybe three—she has booked her cremation appointment, at a crispy 1,000 degrees, so it won’t be long. But until then she has her cigarettes, a World War II–era weapon, some Facebook friends, and her memories to sustain her. Memories from her childhood in the remote islands of Iceland, where she was born the granddaughter of Iceland’s first president, to teen years spent in war-torn Europe while her father fought on the side of the Nazis, to love affairs on several continents. Each part of Herra’s story is a poignant piece of a puzzle that comes together in the final pages of this remarkable, unpredictable, and enthralling novel.

Set against the stark backdrop of the Icelandic winter, an elusive, enigmatic fox leads a hunter on a transformative quest. At the edge of the hunter’s territory, a naturalist struggles to build a life for a young woman with Down syndrome, whom he has rescued from a shipwreck years before. By the end of Sjón’s slender, spellbinding fable of a novel, none of their lives will be the same.

It is mystery, part fairy tale. Sjön is a literary national treasure in Iceland; celebrated as an author, poet, screenwriter, and Björk collaborator. And The Blue Fox won him the 2005 Nordic Council Literature Prize ― which is the Nordic world’s highest literary honour.

After a day of being dumped – twice – and accidentally killing a goose, the narrator begins to dream of tropical holidays far away from the chaos of her current life. instead, she finds her plans wrecked by her best friend’s deaf-mute son, thrust into her reluctant care. But when a shared lottery ticket nets the two of them over 40 million kroner, she and the boy head off on a road trip across Iceland, taking in cucumber-farming hotels, dead sheep, and any number of her exes desperate for another chance.

Butterflies in November is blackly comic and uniquely moving. An extraordinary, hilarious tale of motherhood, relationships and the legacy of life’s mistakes.

If you want to give the Icelandic take on the wildly successful Nordic Noir genre a try, Arnaldur Indriadason would be one of the most popular authors to look for.

An old man is found murdered in his Reykjavik flat. A cryptic note and a photograph of a young girl’s grave are left behind. Inspector Erlendur discovers that several decades ago the victim was accused, but not convicted, of an unsolved crime. As he follows a fascinating trail of strange forensic evidence, Inspector Erlendur uncovers secrets that are much larger than the murder of one man – dark secrets that have been carefully guarded for many, many years.

The film adaptation of Jar City, was Iceland’s entry for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

Set against the bleak landscape of Iceland, a story of madness unfolds as Paul describes growing up in a working-class family and his frequent retreat into his own fantasy world, which eventually leads him to Klepp, a psychiatric hospital.

The novel was inspired by the life of the author’s own brother, which adds an extra layer of heartbreak. You’ll never read a novel quite like Angels of the Universe.

This author is from Australia, so this one does in fact not fit my own rules. However I find the description of it interesting enough that I want it on my list. Burial Rites is inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

Agnes, who is charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. The family, who is horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes’s death looms, the farmer’s wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they’ve heard.

Burial Rites was translated into 30 languages and has received a long list of awards and a 4+ average rating on Goodreads, which I find to be rare.