Under the Wings of the Valkyrie

by Sjón, Brian FitzGibbon (Translator)

91 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Sjón (Sigurjón B. Sigurðsson) was born in Reykjavik on the 27th of August, 1962. He started his writing career early, publishing his first book of poetry, Sýnir (Visions), in 1978. Sjón was a founding member of the surrealist group, Medúsa, and soon became significant in Reykjavik's cultural landscape.

Since then, his prolific writing drove him to pen song lyrics, scripts for movies and of course novels such as The Blue Fox.

Reviews

[Mary Rose Fissinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joined Skylight Book’s monthly subscription Invisible Friends book club with a (non-invisible) friend and this was the first book that came. On initial glance we felt very ripped off. Reader, this book is 2.5” by 4” and not even 100 pages and there are pictures.

Things I liked: the writing style (clear, direct), the conceit (a letter written by an insane man to his girlfriend explaining a very extreme action he just took), and the sense of humor in a broad way. Things I didn’t love: most of the content was an exploration of this man’s f*cked up psychosexual development and it was just truly off the rails. Very little to grab onto here from a relatability perspective.

Except this line: “No, I was too much in love with you to risk you thinking I was mentally unbalanced.”

Can’t wait to see what’s next for me and my imaginary friends.

Update: I’m giving it a 3 because I really liked some things about it and the things I didn’t like I didn’t have to deal with long enough to really bother me.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating translation from isolarii press. I've been meaning to read Sjón for a while, but this short story only gave me a small taste. I enjoyed it. Kind of a wild, debased romp as a love letter takes the form of a confession over a past fantasy romance with Gudrun Ensslin (founder of the far-left Red Army Faction; aka, the Baader-Meinhof Gang).

Is there such a thing as reverse pedophilia?

Maybe this is what happens when national identity, celebrity, and militant politics cross wires with the male libido...

More about the book and how it was first received here:
https://www.anothermag.com/design-liv...

[Cristiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting epistolary short story by Icelandic writer Sjon, but as a isolarii book it lacked the power to teach me something new - something I have admired in each of the other isolariis to date.

That being said: I loved the collages! It added to the atmosphere of this narrative.

[Aster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much exactly what I want from a short: singular, concise, intriguing. Reminds me of something Stephen King or Harlan Ellison would have stuffed in some collection when they were feeling particularly morbid.

[Emily Wood]

Honestly? This was great and I love isolarii!

[Neshat Neishabouri · Rating 5 out of 5]

خیلی وقت بود انقدر از خواندن ی داستان کوتاه لذت نبرده بودم. داستان بسیار عجیب و حیرت انگیزی بود.

[ttttooo”””’mmmmmm · Rating 4 out of 5]

possibly the first book to make me feel physically ill