Independent People

Vast in scope and deeply rewarding, Independent People is a masterpiece.. Having spent 18 years in humiliating servitude, Bjartur wants nothing more than to raise his flocks unbeholden to any man. Although it is set in the early 20th century, it recalls both Iceland's medieval epics and such classics as Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter. But Bjartur's spirited daughter wants to live unbeholden to him. And if Bjartur of Summerhouses, the book's protagonist, is an ordinary sheep farmer, his flinty determination to achieve independence is genuinely heroic and, at the same time, terrifying and bleakly comic. 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. This magnificent novel - which secured for its author the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature - is now available to contemporary American audien

Dustin R.T. said The Spirit of Iceland, The Man of Great Independence. Sure, on its face, this seems the story of a single impoverished Icelandic crofter in the early "The Spirit of Iceland, The Man of Great Independence" according to Dustin R.T.. Sure, on its face, this seems the story of a single impoverished Icelandic crofter in the early 20th century. But Bjartur of Summerhouses, a man who has the blood of the Vikings coursing through his veins, is not that simple. Though this book follows the travails of this one great, independent man through times of boom and times of bust, it is no mistake that the title of the book is Independent People, and not Independent Person. 0th century. But Bjartur of Summerhouses, a man who has the blood of the Vikings coursing through his veins, is not that simple. Though this book follows the travails of this one great, independent man through times of boom and times of bust, it is no mistake that the title of the book is Independent People, and not Independent Person. Kyle H said Excellent text, marred by formatting issues. The narrative itself is excellent, a good example of Laxness's work and something I would recommend to anyone who has read his shorter books and is looking for something a bit longer. However, the transfer over to Kindle format has not gone well, and there seems to have been little in the way of quality control to check this. At first, I figured the occasional misspelling or odd error in grammar was down to a scanning error that . "This is an awesome book!" according to Caitlin McGinn. There are no words to accurately describe this wonderful, oppressive, brilliant novel. Laxness uses his native Iceland as the full inspiration for the novels landscape, atmosphere, characters and even plot. While it is not a saga in the traditional Icelandic saga sense, it deeply pulls from them. The things that happen to Bjartur seem to be influenced by these supernatural creatures that Icelanders recognized in their sagas. For