Ragnar Jónasson > Quotes

“A good book could transport her far, far away, to a different world, another country, another culture, where the climate was warmer and life was easier.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Mist

“It was as if her life had been brought to a full stop: she couldn't look forward, couldn't picture what tomorrow night bring.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Darkness

“It had rained without a break since the middle of the afternoon, when the skies had finally started to clear. Ari Thór didn’t make a habit of going to the theatre, but still understood the excitement behind a good production. Tension in the air could sometimes be palpable, but never as overwhelming as it was that Friday evening in the Siglufjördur theatre. But this time there was no production taking place and the auditorium was empty. What he and Tómas – both of them on duty that night – could not avoid was the body. There was no doubt they were looking at a corpse; but Tómas still checked for a pulse”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Snowblind

“That damned volcano”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Blackout

“The Icelandic tradition of reading a new book on Christmas Eve, and into the early hours of the morning, had been important in his family’s home.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Snowblind

“A mind can be turned by a single cruel word. Care should be taken in the presence of a soul.’ – Einar Benediktsson, from ‘Starkaður’s Soliloquies”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Island

“Ari Thór had come to realise that the only way to survive in the northernmost town in Iceland was to embrace all the seasons and resign yourself to your fate. You had to learn to love the bitterly cold winter nights as much as the never-ending summer days, when darkness is nothing but a distant memory and the sun floods the land with warmth and light. And understand how nourishing the cold can be for the body and the soul.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Winterkill

“Bernódusson, Guðmund L. Hafsteinsson og Kristján Sveinsson.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Andköf

“Vous croyez qu’un virus s’attaquerait à un homme de Dieu”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Sótt

“She would have to watch herself. What was it that Bishop Vídalín once wrote? Rage kindles an inferno in the eyes; a feeling she knew only too well.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Darkness

“The hour-long drive to Akureyri didn’t take him long.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Nightblind

“She was deaf to the sighing of the waves and blind to the stars and Northern Lights shimmering across the sky.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Mist

“also key American authors such as Ellery Queen and S. S. Van Dine.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Snowblind

“That first winter in the north had been hell and the weight of snow had been relentless and suffocating. But when the warm, bright days emerged from the frozen darkness, his spirits had lifted and he saw his new home with fresh eyes. And he now had a second winter behind him.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Blackout

“This is going to be a hell of a story!”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Blackout

“Evan Fein had long anticipated visiting this island at the edge of the habitable world. And now here this Ohio art history student was, on his first visit to Iceland. Nature had pooled its energies, as if to add to the woes of the financial crash, by presenting Icelanders with two volcanic eruptions, one right after the other.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Blackout

“lot”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Snowblind

“Then all the ills of winter are swept away.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Nightblind

“But he was a man who relished jeopardy.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Snowblind

“If the thermometer in the car was to be believed”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer

“What would be the point of getting up in the morning, feeding ourselves, working by day and sleeping at night, if nothing ever touched your soul? We need fairy tales, beauty; we need to be able to imagine that oak tree in the French forest, see drawings of it, smell the scent of its leaves through the medium of poetry and stories, and – most essential of all – have a good book ready to hand in case we find that tree in real life and want to settle down in its shade to read. I suppose you could say it’s all about snatching moments from eternity.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer

“Sure, it all looks quiet and friendly on the surface, but behind closed doors there’s an uncomfortable secret. Domestic violence; and nobody wants to acknowledge it, let alone talk about it.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Nightblind

“so she stopped at the Stadarskáli service station for lunch – burger with chips and cocktail sauce – a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise that the Icelanders claimed as their own – real comfort food, which helped to lift her mood a little.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Reykjavík

“The man studied her through his thick lenses. He was completely bald, wore a checked waistcoat, a shirt and grey trousers, and must have been nearing retirement age, if he hadn’t already passed it without anyone noticing. Here he sat in his private realm, forgotten by everyone, surrounded by folders, books and files.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Reykjavík

“That first winter in the north had been hell and the weight of snow had been relentless and suffocating. But when the warm, bright days emerged from the frozen darkness, his spirits had lifted and he saw his new home with fresh eyes. And he now had a second winter behind him. Although he still found the isolation of the winter darkness oppressive, he was getting used to it, even enjoying the sight of a fresh fall of snow on the colourful buildings that hugged the coast, and the icy grandeur of the mountains that enveloped the village.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Blackout

“She had been told that soon, around the middle of November, the sun would disappear behind the mountains for its long winter break and it wouldn’t return until late January, when the town would celebrate with solar coffee and pancakes.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Nightblind

“I know children aren’t supposed to remember anything about their first few years, but remembering is one thing, sensing is another. I believe I picked up on the insecurity and that it’s affected me all my life. I”
― Ragnar Jónasson, The Darkness

“The aroma of cinnamon and chocolate from the bakery was a temptation, but that hardly constituted a healthy breakfast. He paused for a moment as the scent washed over him. The quality of Siglufjörður’s cinnamon buns, known as hnútar, left the Reykjavík version he was used to in the shade.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Blackout

“and the fact that they had been living together”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Snowblind

“You can’t pull up a tree when its roots have grown so deep.”
― Ragnar Jónasson, Blackout