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Ráno života
Nato in Islanda nel 1902 Guðmundsson ha utilizzato la lingua più vicina a quella materna, il nynorsk. L'eroe del "Mattino della vita" è un generoso che espia il male commesso, perchè ha una fede nel valore umano dell'esistenza. Ama il mare e i ghiacciai. Il romanzo si svolge sulle coste meridionali dell'Islanda, l'anima del piccolo ed antichissimo popolo si riflette multiforme e affascinante nelle pagine di Guðmundsson.
- GenresFiction
259 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1929
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Kristmann Guðmundsson
13 books2 followersKristmann was born out of wedlock to a country girl who left him in the care of her impoverished family. At age 13 he ran away and turned his hand to all kinds of menial work but, at the same time, managed to learn several languages.
In 1924 he went to Norway and two years later published in Norwegian a collection of stories, Islandsk kjærlighet (“Icelandic Loves”). It was a literary success and astonished the critics by its mastery of Norwegian idiom and style. He followed that success with the publication of several novels, among them the family sagas Brudekjolen (1927; The Bridal Gown) and Livets morgen (1929; Morning of Life) and the autobiographical Hvite netter (1934; “White Nights”). Gudmundsson’s fiction can be loosely classed as romances, family sagas, and historical novels. He drew a great deal on his Icelandic background and on Icelandic literature and social history, but the constant theme in his work is love (both physical and spiritual) between men and women. He was married seven times.
In 1939 he returned to Iceland and began writing in Icelandic, but those works were not as successful as those he published in Norwegian. Scholars criticized his works in general for their melodrama and “hyperbole.” However, their popularity ensured that many of them were translated into most of the major languages of the Western world.
(From The Encyclopaedia Britannica)
In 1924 he went to Norway and two years later published in Norwegian a collection of stories, Islandsk kjærlighet (“Icelandic Loves”). It was a literary success and astonished the critics by its mastery of Norwegian idiom and style. He followed that success with the publication of several novels, among them the family sagas Brudekjolen (1927; The Bridal Gown) and Livets morgen (1929; Morning of Life) and the autobiographical Hvite netter (1934; “White Nights”). Gudmundsson’s fiction can be loosely classed as romances, family sagas, and historical novels. He drew a great deal on his Icelandic background and on Icelandic literature and social history, but the constant theme in his work is love (both physical and spiritual) between men and women. He was married seven times.
In 1939 he returned to Iceland and began writing in Icelandic, but those works were not as successful as those he published in Norwegian. Scholars criticized his works in general for their melodrama and “hyperbole.” However, their popularity ensured that many of them were translated into most of the major languages of the Western world.
(From The Encyclopaedia Britannica)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 3, 2022
Well, this was a rollercoaster. Or, more appropriately, a snow storm with a whirlwind. From my point of view, there are two main levels of the story in this novel, the obvious (somewhat melodramatic) one following the main character Haldor, a skilled Icelandic fisherman and farmer and the consequences of his decision at the start of the book on himself and the people connected with him. That story is the one of human resilience, weakness, intermixed love and hate and the tragic human faults that destroy and bitter more than one life and punish more than the culprits. The main question is: when is a person wronged revenged enough and whom does the poison of revenge really hurt? The inner struggles and outward actions of the characters seemed true to life, because human beings are capable of cruelty even in love, and compassion even in hate. The characters (both main ones and supporting ones, especially locals) are lifelike, faultly human and memorable.
The other, more subtle level of the story in this book is the more captivating one for me, and that is the relation of people and nature. The parts of the story depicting fishing, Icelandic storms and seasons and the way people's lives are impacted by nature, that is for me the strongest part of the book and one of the reasons I love reading stories based in Iceland. The nature here seems like a living thing, a friend and an enemy in one, an indifferent parent in one moment and a nourishing mother in the next. I could see the menacing clouds and hear the roar of the sea when the author described those scenes, the harshness and the beauty of Icelandic nature and how it mirrors in the close-knit society. That alone was worth reading the whole book, but there is so much more here. So, the plot is captivating enough to follow the characters (just expect a lot of melodrama, especially on the last third of the book), but if you read it as a study of human nature and the impact of isolation and harsh environment on people, I think you will enjoy this novel more than you expect.
The other, more subtle level of the story in this book is the more captivating one for me, and that is the relation of people and nature. The parts of the story depicting fishing, Icelandic storms and seasons and the way people's lives are impacted by nature, that is for me the strongest part of the book and one of the reasons I love reading stories based in Iceland. The nature here seems like a living thing, a friend and an enemy in one, an indifferent parent in one moment and a nourishing mother in the next. I could see the menacing clouds and hear the roar of the sea when the author described those scenes, the harshness and the beauty of Icelandic nature and how it mirrors in the close-knit society. That alone was worth reading the whole book, but there is so much more here. So, the plot is captivating enough to follow the characters (just expect a lot of melodrama, especially on the last third of the book), but if you read it as a study of human nature and the impact of isolation and harsh environment on people, I think you will enjoy this novel more than you expect.
October 28, 2009
Published in Italy in 1935, this book disappeared after the 1930s.
And yet it had the honour of a second edition with Mondadori, one of the most important national publishing firms (now owned by our tycoon/PM, but...well what hasn't been bought by him here?).
I found Gudmundsson in a second hand bookmarket and bought it just because it costed like a coffee cup and was written by an Icelandic author. Then the book slept for months standing on a forgotten bookshelf.
Immediately after having read the magnificent "Independent People" by Laxness I took Gudmundsson to keep the northern memories alive and make an attempt of confrontation.
"Livets Morgen" doesn't have that much to share with "Independent People", but has its moments. The same choice of writing this book in nynorsk (nowadays the second national idiom of Norway) and not in Icelandic may tell something about Gudmundsson.
Whereas Laxness was looking at his homecountry as an independent entity, even criticizing its people and habits in a sincere and merciless way, Gudmundsson was feeling the Danish and continental influence more. In this way, Laxness was perceived as a modern and inconvenient voice while Gudmundsson was popular and conservative.
It's not a coincidence, after all, that Laxness characters look forward to America as the only alternative to their island, while Gudmundsson ones are still tied to Europe, Denmark and its trading bourgeoisie.
Despite of its lack of modernity, this book is not that bad. "Livets Morgen" stands a couple of steps higher than other examples of the same kind of literature. A literature that is basically oriented to the eternal counterposition between love & hate.
Here you can find a closed circle of main characters and their heirs being all sentimentally involved and connected, suggesting how Iceland itself was (and partly is) a small community.
Gudmundsson's Haldor is more "cosmopolitan" than Laxness' Bjartur. Both have the power to make their women unhappy, but the first one pretends to care considering himself a gentleman, while the second one scorns that sort of non-independent people.
So, if you will ever put your hands on "Livets Morgen" just read it as an entertaining book, with some almost comical "erotic" situations, on the edge between a prissy, puritan view and a more licentious tickle. And then investigate why apparently all the young lovers in early 20th century Iceland were chasing each other riding a horse in the moor with the goal of kissing down in the heather.
And yet it had the honour of a second edition with Mondadori, one of the most important national publishing firms (now owned by our tycoon/PM, but...well what hasn't been bought by him here?).
I found Gudmundsson in a second hand bookmarket and bought it just because it costed like a coffee cup and was written by an Icelandic author. Then the book slept for months standing on a forgotten bookshelf.
Immediately after having read the magnificent "Independent People" by Laxness I took Gudmundsson to keep the northern memories alive and make an attempt of confrontation.
"Livets Morgen" doesn't have that much to share with "Independent People", but has its moments. The same choice of writing this book in nynorsk (nowadays the second national idiom of Norway) and not in Icelandic may tell something about Gudmundsson.
Whereas Laxness was looking at his homecountry as an independent entity, even criticizing its people and habits in a sincere and merciless way, Gudmundsson was feeling the Danish and continental influence more. In this way, Laxness was perceived as a modern and inconvenient voice while Gudmundsson was popular and conservative.
It's not a coincidence, after all, that Laxness characters look forward to America as the only alternative to their island, while Gudmundsson ones are still tied to Europe, Denmark and its trading bourgeoisie.
Despite of its lack of modernity, this book is not that bad. "Livets Morgen" stands a couple of steps higher than other examples of the same kind of literature. A literature that is basically oriented to the eternal counterposition between love & hate.
Here you can find a closed circle of main characters and their heirs being all sentimentally involved and connected, suggesting how Iceland itself was (and partly is) a small community.
Gudmundsson's Haldor is more "cosmopolitan" than Laxness' Bjartur. Both have the power to make their women unhappy, but the first one pretends to care considering himself a gentleman, while the second one scorns that sort of non-independent people.
So, if you will ever put your hands on "Livets Morgen" just read it as an entertaining book, with some almost comical "erotic" situations, on the edge between a prissy, puritan view and a more licentious tickle. And then investigate why apparently all the young lovers in early 20th century Iceland were chasing each other riding a horse in the moor with the goal of kissing down in the heather.
March 8, 2014
Standing (or flowing) between Moby Dick and The Old man and sea, an archetypal story about the strength of nature and man, love and hate, demons that must be deafeated and people that must not, situated in beautiful, mystical and cruel Island in the beginning of 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews