Biography
The Islander
A biography of HalldĂłr Laxness
by HalldĂłr GuĂ°mundsson
Translated by Philip Roughton
Maclehose Press, London, 2008, 2023
This book artfully ties together the loose threads Iâve been accumulating since I began reading this great Icelandic writer.
The earliest date of importance in this well-written biography is 1832, when HalldĂłrâs very influential grandmother was born. The last is 1998 when HalldĂłr died in a nursing home in ReykjavĂk. The time in between those years contains an almost unbelievable story: a boy who was always writing, a young man who left Iceland as a restless searcher, the mature writer who returned to became a champion of its language and people and, finally, of an internationally renown author whose work is ranked among the greatest fiction writing of all time.
GuĂ°mundsson spares nothing in covering all dimensions of this complex individual: Laxnessâ support of the Soviet Union in the 1930s and 1940s, his often strained relationships with women (he could be a real jerk at times), his freeloading from friends, his long-lasting grudges with critics, his relentless self-promotion, and his often brutally frank assessments of modern culture. Laxness was an extremely controversial figure, both in Iceland and abroad, even to the point of being investigated by the CIA and the FBI. His novels usually had the sub-theme of challenging Icelanders to think in a new way about their society and its role in the world.
Laxness was an extremely disciplined writer who continually challenged himself, refining his work and exploring new techniques even when he was well into his sixties. In addition to his early and middle years, this book also covers the last part of his career (which has not been translated and had always been something of a mystery to me.) This latter output consisted primarily of essays and âmemoir novels.â
When I first read Laxness, I often felt that I was lacking in context for many of the themes expressed in his novels. This book does a very good job of filling in those gaps. In a sense, Iâve come full circle on Laxness. I know Iâll return to him, perhaps re-reading his work in order, with this biography at hand.
Iceland is a strange and wonderful place; although Laxnessâ Iceland may be suffering a bit from the onslaught of globalism, the ideas which he planted will continue to sprout whenever his books are read.
HalldĂłr Laxness
By Peter Hallberg
Translated by Rory McTurk
Twayne Publishers: New York, 1971
My infatuation with HalldĂłr Laxness continues unabated.
My most recent acquisition, this biography of HalldĂłr Laxness was written by a Norse scholar from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In contrast to HalldĂłr GuĂ°mundssonâs expansive 2008 biography The Islander, Hallbergâs approach starts from the âinsideââthrough an examination of Laxnessâ novels and other significant writings, giving less coverage of his personal life but offering more insights into his work. Hallbergâs close reading of The Great Weaver from Kashmir, for example, paints a vivid portrait of the artist as a young man as seen through the novel. Pertinent quotes and excerpts from Laxnessâ essays and correspondence of the time show a deep understanding of how Laxness developed as a writer and a thinker. All of his novels through Paradise Regained are covered here in similar detail, demonstrating how Laxnessâ used contrasting positions within a scene to illuminate a social or philosophical issue. Liberal quotes from his essays are also includedâan important part of Laxnessâ literary output, most of which has not yet been translated into English.
This is a great companion to the GuĂ°mundsson book, even though Hallbergâs coverage ends just before the publication of Under the Glacier.
Anti-American Wins Nobel Prize
A documentary by
HalldĂłr Thorgeirsson
I received a DVD screener of this concise and literate documentary which looks at the life of HalldĂłr Laxness. Such notables as Jane Smiley, Brad Leithauser, GĂŒnter Grass, Morten Thing and Chay Lemoine expound upon the political intrigues which swirled around Icelandâs only Nobel laureate.
Laxness came into his own as writer soon after the end of World War I, a war which had effectively killed the romantic novel. While a spirit of âirrational exuberanceâ had emerged on both sides of the Atlantic Laxness, struggling with personal problems, had entered a monastery; an episode which served as the basis for his novel The Great Weaver from Kashmir. He then spent time in Canada and the U.S. where, witnessing the failure of capitalism and, developing an acquaintance with Upton Sinclair, he embraced Socialist ideals which greatly influenced his novels.
The documentary shows Laxness traveling through Europe in the 1930s, when his writing was denounced by Nazis and he was deceived by the Soviets. Leftist writers in Denmark promoted and translated his work, aiding his ascendance with readers in Scandinavia. In Iceland, his views on class struggle and his push for modernization of the Icelandic language and literature actually caused him to be brought to trial for its âincorrectâ use. The occupation of Iceland by the British, followed by the establishment of an American Naval base, was perceived as a threat to Icelandic identity and pushed Laxness toward writing his satirical novel The Atom Station. That novel prompted Icelandic politicians to notify the U.S. ambassador, suggesting that he was a tax evader, and brought attention from the U.S. State Department and the F.B.I.. This caused Laxness to be effectively blacklisted; some aspects of these actions remain, to this day, state secrets.
The film is a little rough round the edges: some stock footage is not in proper sequence, but the interviewees are excellent, especially GĂŒnter Grass, who deftly explains the political situation of European writers in the inter-war era. It also has a clip from HalldĂłrâs humiliating televised renunciation of Stalinism in 1957.
I donât know where one might be able to see this, although Iâve read that it is for sale in Iceland. I havenât been able to find any references to it in English. It is an excellent overview of the man and his effect on Icelandic culture.
Thanks again to Chay Lemoine, who sent me this fascinating video.
HalldĂłr returns to ReykjavĂk after receiving the Nobel Prize in literature, December 1955. â MorgunblaĂ°iĂ°/Ălafur K. MagnĂșsson
Controversy Over Laxness Biography
Hannes HĂłlmsteinn Gissurarson*, a professor, announced publicly in the summer of 2003 that he was writing a biography of Laxness, but subsequently AuĂ°ur Laxness tried to deny him access to the poet's collection of letters at the manuscript department of the ĂjóðarbĂłkhlaĂ°inn and succeeded. The reason was that she did not consider Hannes capable of writing an unbiased biography of Laxness. After the first volume of HalldĂłrâs biography was published, Helga Kress, professor, and others harshly criticized Hannes for freely quoting the poet's text without any sources. Hannes has later admitted in interviews that he should have had more sources than he did.
In the fall of 2004, AuĂ°ur filed a lawsuit against Hannes for copyright infringement. Hannes was acquitted in ReykjavĂk District Court in 2006, but the case was appealed to the Supreme Court, where Hannes was sentenced in 2008 for copyright infringement in the first volume of HalldĂłr Laxness's biography. He was ordered to pay ISK 1.5 million in financial compensation and ISK 1.6 million in legal costs.
AuĂ°ur Laxness and her family gave their blessing to the biography written by HalldĂłr GuĂ°mundsson, giving him access to a collection of letters and documents that were in the familyâs possession.
~ Icelandic Wikipedia article
More information on HKL:
Jennaâs webinar discussion about HalldĂłr and Faulkner (starts about 04:00)âŠ
Michael reviews The Islander in London Review of BooksâŠ
Debora examines Hannes* biography of Laxness and the subsequent plagiarism caseâŠ
HalldĂłr details Laxnessâ troubles with the U.S. government in 1929âŠ
Martin compares and contrasts the Laxness legacy vis-ĂĄ-vis other Icelandic contemporariesâŠ
Björnâs essay on HalldĂłr and cinematic modernity in Scandinavian Studies (JSTOR)âŠ
Johnâs Lithub look at the heroic writing of HKLâŠ
Helgaâs lengthy biography of Laxness and discussion of his worksâŠ
Elliotâs thesis on the legacy of HKLâŠ
Nicholasâ Telegraph review of HalldĂłr GuĂ°mundssonâs bioâŠ
Chayâs interview with HalldĂłr GuĂ°mundssonâŠ
Jonathan relates a 1987 visit with HalldĂłrâŠ
Bruceâs Laxness bioâŠ
Scottâs extended essay on LaxnessâŠ
Ernestâs terse appreciation of LaxnessâŠ
Iris mentions her visit with HalldĂłrâŠ
Jonâs essay on Laxness and Soviet propaganda (pdf)âŠ
Agnesâ attempts to reach HalldĂłrâŠ
HallgrĂmurâs fictionalized account of Laxnessâ Stalinist leanings (excerpt)âŠ
HallgrĂmurâs appreciation of Laxness on Randy Cohenâs podcastâŠ
HallgrĂmur on Laxnessâ legacy in ReykjavĂk GrapevineâŠ
Jodieâs dissertation on Laxness and Upton Sinclair (paywall)âŠ
Laxness heirs in tax disputeâŠ
Pascal Pinon performs Ăst, a song inspired by Laxnessâ writing, on CBC radioâŠ
GerĂ°ur reviews Halldorâs childhood memoirs for Lit HubâŠ
Eleanor and HallgrĂmur discuss Iceland and HalldĂłrâŠ
Humperdingusâ video biography (mostly Icelandic)âŠ
GljĂșfrasteinnâs Laxness biographyâŠ
New York Times ObituaryâŠ
Scandinavica May 2003 issue devoted to HalldĂłr Laxness (pdf)âŠ
World Literature Forum thread on LaxnessâŠ
I shall or I die 1989 documentary on Laxness and his lifeâŠ
This page created by Stephen
