The Return of the Divine Mary

by Bjarni Bjarnason, David McDuff (Translator)

Mary is a perfectly ordinary girl until one day she can no longer see herself in the mirror... So begins Bjarni Bjarnason’s extraordinary tale, as Mary escapes her former life in the company of the ingenious circus performer Michael Blomsterfeld. In Bjarnason’s innovative novel, the mystery of Mary’s true identity will unfold in a powerful, dramatic climax.

‘... an extraordinary, beautifully written novel’
RODDY DOYLE

‘Bjarni Bjarnason is no doubt one of the most remarkable Icelandic authors of his generation...’
WORLD LITERATURE TODAY

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2014

About the author

Bjarni lived abroad whilst growing up, but started publishing poetry in Icelandic newspapers and magazines as a teenager. He also wrote a play at the age of twenty that was staged by an amateur theatre group in Iceland. In 1989 Bjarni published his first book of poetry, Upphafið (The Beginning) and later that year his book, Ótal kraftaverk (Countless Miracles), which contains prose poems, appeared. Since then, Bjarni has published other poetry collections, short stories and novels. He has also written a collection of one-act plays, called Dagurinn í dag (This Current Day).

Bjarni's second novel, Endurkoma Maríu (Maria's Return) was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize in 1996 and two years later he received the Tómas Guðmundsson Award for the novel, Borgin bak við orðin (The City Behind the Words). Bjarni has also received a short story award from the Icelandic Broadcasting Service and his novel, Mannætukonan og maður hennar (The Cannibal-Woman and her Husband) won the Halldór Laxness Literature Award in 2001. Bjarni was one of the founders of the literary magazine Andblær that has been published since 1994. The magazine focuses on writings by young authors.

Bjarni Bjarnason currently lives in Norway.