Iceland Summer: Travels along the Ring Road

by Kurt Caswell, Julia Oldham (Illustrator)

An island is a world out of time and place, separated by literal and figurative oceans, where the confines of reality are tenuous and magic may be possible. Iceland—with its relative isolation, enchanting mythologies, creative people, and the otherworldly wild beauty of its glaciers, geysers, volcanos, and fjords—encompases this special magic in the minds of many, including writer Kurt Caswell.

Vividly illustrated by Julia Oldham, Iceland Summer recounts Caswell’s journey traversing the country by foot and bus accompanied by his lifelong friend Scott. The pair set out from Reykjavík and travel clockwise along the Ring Road, stopping along the way for backcountry walking trips. Caswell immerses himself in the natural beauty and charming eccentricities of the tiny island nation. With his drinking and hiking buddy by his side, and fueled by a steady diet of Brennivín (fermented grain mash) and pylsur (Icelandic hot dogs), he explores the Hornstrandir peninsula, walks to the famed Dettifoss waterfall, waits for a glimpse of the lake monster Lagarfljótsormurinn at Egilsstaðir, visits the world’s only penis museum, and pays homage to centuries of Icelandic literary tradition at the Árni Magnússon Institute.

Writing in the tradition of other pairs who have traveled in Iceland, like W. G. Collingwood and Jón Stefánsson, and W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, Caswell meditates on the value of wild places in the modern world, travel as both pastime and occupation, the nature of friendship, and walking, food, and literature. Scott is the Sancho Panza to Caswell’s Don Quixote, offering a ribald humor that grounds Caswell’s flights into the romantic. The two travel well together and together arrive at the understanding that what anchors them both is their lifelong friendship.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

190 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2023

Reviews

[Catherine Churchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2017, I took a lovely trip around the ring road. This book was enjoyable as it brought back many memories of the trip and had lots of good, well researched Icelandic history sprinkled in. I would recommend this book to anyone that has done the ring road or is interested in learning about ancient Icelandic history. The author missed some of my favorite spots though which I found frustrating :)

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the author's observations unprofound, and the whole book somewhat lacking in organization and thesis.

[Bridget Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t write reviews often but there were several negative ones so I wanted to offset them with a positive one! I traveled with my 3 adult children and a small tour group to Iceland in 2018. I would love to go back and this book gave me some ideas of different things to do. But more than that, I enjoyed his stories of his travels and his meetings and encounters with the locals. The bus drivers were great characters. And what a special friendship Kurt and Scott have to do this kind of trip. I am an older female and could not do those big hikes they did in the fjords but I enjoyed reading about them. The illustrations were perfect and added a nice touch. I loved my trip to Iceland and this book brought back some fond memories.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good book. However, I got bored during a long hike midway through. A lot of what the author and his friend do is walk through challenging landscapes, camp, and ruminate. Great for those who like to do that sort of thing...just not for me. I would call it a thoughtful diary of an interesting adventure...just something that doesn't appeal to me personally.

Update: I decided to pick it up again. After the rough landscape hiking, he came back to the city and towns and the Ring Road, all of which interested me. So I did finish it! And enjoyed it for the most part. I also struggle with history, ach. However I love Iceland to bits and took what I could from this thoughtful record of visits there.

[Christian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've made five trips to Iceland so far and read any and all books about the island that I can get my hands on. This was one of the more pedestrian, uninspired, self-important Iceland books I've read about Iceland. The author takes an extremely average, fairly boring journey and tries to turn it into an epic adventure full of profound insights and quirky moments. I was highly annoyed reading it, and relieved when I allowed myself to abandon it.

[Hoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a humorous, likable voice outlining his travels in Iceland, Kurt writes an interesting and captivating story filled with history and tidbits of Icelandic culture and personal anecdotes. A fun, quick read for those interesting in Iceland or even those who have traveled there. Have your notes ready to jot down for you will want to visit some of the places he mentions.

[Matt Heavner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good travel narrative. Great mix of the trip itself and stories of the area. A few interesting characters met along the way (park ranger, bus driver, cafe waitress, a few brief other travellers) - I would have liked a bit more stories of meeting Icelanders. But a good travel story.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved following the author and his hiking buddy around Iceland. Interesting bits of conversation, adventure and thoughtful history. Pictures I intermingled were beautiful. I was always looking forward to the next illustration.

[Emillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book since I plan on driving ring road in Iceland this summer. I was hoping for some more rich descriptions of the scenes and location and less literary acknowledgements and tangents. Some thoughts were profound but I also found it pretty disjointed.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up to be nice.
I'm interested in visiting Iceland, city wandering and hiking/camping in the countryside.
The book is written to be light and funny. It was mostly corny, and it pressed my "why is everything about alcohol" button.
Skip it.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about exploring Iceland and its stories.

[Neil Troost · Rating 3 out of 5]

just a pleasant read. booped along. nothing earth shattering. felt like i was there so good job on that