Independent People: An Epic by Halldór Laxness
Posted by Richard on Tuesday, 28 December 2004
Finished reading Independent People by Halldór Laxness.
This book took me the longest it has ever taken me to read, almost a year. It is nominally about sheep, though it is about a man's struggle to remain independent of his wives, his children and pretty much the rest of Iceland. The ending is perfect.
Some links to quotes from the book and the author are below:
- Independent and Free, a quote from the book about how Asta Sollilja felt about her father, Bjartur of Summerhouses, the principle character of the book
- The Scandalous Tyranny Of Mankind, about Asta Sollilja talking to herself in the fields
- Her Keen Eyes Reminded Him Both of the Sky and of Its Hawks, a quote about a boy seeing an incredibly beautiful girl
- A Drunken, Despairing, Loafish Lot, which features a quote by Brad Leithauser, who wrote the introduction to Independent People, though the quote is about Laxness and his book, Iceland's Bell.