The Trolls in the Knolls: 35 Icelandic folk and fairy tales

by Jón Árnason, Silja Aðalsteinsdóttir (Editor), Fífa Finnsdóttir (Illustrator)

Icelandic folktales have lived with the nation for centuries. They served as one of the primary forms of entertainment for people as they sat and worked through long winters. Many of the tales are inspired by Icelandic nature and deal with mountain trolls and elves who live in cliffs and crags, while others are a testament to the powers of imagination, including gruesome ghost stories and tales of strange beasts on land and in the sea. This volume brings together a wide range of stories and beautiful illustrations.

Jón Árnason (1819–1888) was an Icelandic scholar. He began collecting folktales under the influence of the Brothers Grimm, compiling the stories that his countrymen had told each other for centuries. Two volumes of his colossal collection were printed in Leipzig, Germany, in 1862 and 1864. His collection of folktales was later released in an even larger collection, a true magnum opus of six volumes, in Reykjavík between 1954 and 1961. It remains the most important collection of Icelandic folktales in print.

Genres: Fantasy, Folklore, Fiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[TheVampireBookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute little book with beautiful illustrations contains interesting tales from an even more interesting country. I believe reading folk tales of a certain nation always gives the reader a good example of how the nation thinks and what shaped it since these stories are told to kids who grow up remembering the lessons from them.
What I found a bit weird, though, was the language. The tales are written in such a weird mixture of modern and archaic English that it kinda hurt my eyes to look at it. Maybe that's just my feeling that some expressions didn't fit in the text, I don't know. I had problem with the stylistics here.
As of the tales themselves - it was really interesting to read stories which have no moral to them (as opposed to my nation's fairy-tales which are basically cautionary tales trying to warn kids no to do certain things). They were just descriptive, explaining why the world is the way it is. Sometimes they told a story of someone but again, it was without plot twists so to speak. Very interesting.

[Ellinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Chelsea Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but mostly for the sake of the beautiful illustrations. Some stories were evocative, some creepy, but a lot were very short and very samey, with long Icelandic names which were very hard to read. It was an alright read but not particularly memorable.

[Rebecca Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

On my recent trip to Iceland I was on a quest for books of local folklore. Also volcanoes. But also folklore. And this collection did not disappoint! The Trolls in the Knolls covers everything from stories of the Hidden People to why the ptarmigan’s feet are feathered. I was happy to find the inclusion of traditional ghost stories as well. It was an excellent slice of Icelandic tradition, taken from a much larger collection published in the 1850s.

The book was an incredibly easy read, as traditional folktales and folklore were told in fairly brief, straightforward ways. They follow some of the tropes of other European traditions, but have their own unique Icelandic touch, particularly in tales of the Hidden People. If you are a fan of the Brother’s Grimm, I think you’ll find these tales particularly interesting, and you can easily finish the book in an afternoon.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this English translation of 36 of Iceland's most well-known folk and fairy tales. Icelandic folklore is rich, varied and colourful; it does not get enough attention in the Western hemisphere. Traveling around Iceland really makes you appreciate the origin of these tales and how well they explain the cause of natural occuring events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides, or certain rock formations.

[Catarina M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very curious to know more of Icelandic stories and tales.
The book was inspired by a XX century folk stories gatherer's book, so the language isn't always easy to understand in this english translation (or at least for a a person whose mother tongue isn't english). I've heard one of the tails while in Iceland and I think that the version of this book is too summarized.
Neverthless it's a pretty interesting book with a lot of fairy tales.

[Louka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this little book from a friend who went on holiday to Iceland.
As I really like mythology, fairy tales, and all that, I was excited to read this. This book contains 35 stories, divided into sections like 'fairy tales' and 'of trolls'. It was a lot of fun to read them. As always with short story collections, I enjoyed some more than others. The fairy tales, for example, were quite good but they also all had a pretty similar beginning (and sometimes an entirely similar structure). Some of the stories also made me think of folk and fairy tales in other cultures and were clearly influenced by each other. Overall, it was a good book, easy to get through, with a selection of fun stories which I enjoyed a lot.

[Joe Noto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this from a book store in Reykjavik. it was different in a good way. The tales are all very short and some of them ended where I wondered what the punchline/takeaway was; maybe they went over my head. But the stories were interesting and magical, and they had my brain going crazy building visualizations as I read. I think I like fairytales now.

3.75 stars and good book to read quickly if you are trying to hit your goodreads goal for the year like me!

[Tess Desire'e · Rating 2 out of 5]

Random collection of stories without any context or history. The stories are nonsensical and nearly all of them have no moral or point at all. I wonder if these are really Icelandic fairy tales or just some garbage for tourists.

[Sarah Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite story was how lichen came to be

[Lori Forrester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love reading about other cultures folk and fairy tales. Funny thing is these don't always have a moral to the story. Quite interesting.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations and a fun variety of stories

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. I bought it while I’m Iceland and it was great to read folklore. Perfect book for what it is. Very interesting.

[Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peculiar tales of the oral traditions of Iceland...

[Grace Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book to read while in Iceland because their culture is around so much folklore and fairytales. It was interesting to read this to understand thier history better.

[Terrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐
35 Icelandic folk and fairy tales. If u wanna know more about iceland, Icelanders u have to read this book! Comes with really beautiful illustrations as well.

[olga żornaczuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

trochę literówek, niektóre rozdziały miały po dwie krótkie opowieści, ale islandzki folklor jest cudowny

[Josh Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short and easy read. It is very obvious that these stories are not presented in their original form. These are the stories after Christianity was brought to Iceland, and was mixed in with their native tales.

An example of this is how the very first story tells us that Icelandic elves (the hidden people) are really just the offspring of Eve. One day, God came to visit Adam, Eve, and all their children but Eve had not finished dressing some of her children and was ashamed to present them before God. Little did Eve know—you can’t just pull a fast one on God like that. He knew, and turned all the kids invisible (and all their progeny too). Which... I’m pretty sure is not actually included in the Bible.

This book gets three stars from me because it had some interesting tales. This could have gotten more stars if some more effort had been put in to present the original Icelandic fairy tales.