The Outlaw

Jón Gnarr #3

by Jón Gnarr, Lytton Smith (Translator)

In The Outlaw Jón Gnarr describes the harsh world of his teenage years and wrestles with painful, bleak memories of this troubled stage of his life, physically abused and surrounded by suicides. He uses punk music to cope, but also discovers an interest in girls and ponders philosophical questions of right and wrong and how to be true to himself.

Genres: Fiction

456 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 20, 2017

About the author

Jón Gnarr Kristinsson is an Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who became the Mayor of Iceland's capital city Reykjavík on 15 June 2010, and stepped down on 16 June 2014. Born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson, Jón legally changed his middle name in 2005 to the way his mother pronounced it when he was a boy. He is married to Jóhanna Jóhannsdóttir with whom he has five children. His daughter, Margret, is a fitness model and IFBB competitor.

Jón Gnarr suffered from dyslexia and had learning difficulties as a child. Jón Gnarr recounts these experiences in his book The Indian, an autobiographical account of his childhood. Jón Gnarr has been diagnosed with ADHD and has actively discussed his life with ADHD publicly.

Jón was known as Jónsi Punk as a teenager and played bass in a punk band called Nefrennsli ("Runny Nose"). He attended a number of high schools,but didn't complete the university entrance exam. During the 1980s Jón and his future wife, Jóhanna Jóhannsdóttir, became acquainted with the members of the band the Sugarcubes, including Björk and Einar Örn Benediktsson. Björk remained a close friend to Jóhanna, while Einar would become an important political ally to Jón.

In 1994, Jón teamed up with Sigurjón Kjartansson to form the radio duo Tvíhöfði. In 1997, he joined TV station Stöð 2 where he wrote and starred in several seasons of the Icelandic comedy show Fóstbræður. His best known movies are The Icelandic Dream and A Man like Me. His stand-up comedy show Ég var einu sinni nörd (I Used To Be a Nerd) is autobiographical.

In late 2009 Jón formed the Best Party with a number of others with no background in politics, including Einar. The Best Party, a satirical political party that parodies Icelandic politics and aims to make the life of the citizens more fun, managed a plurality in the 2010 municipal elections in Reykjavík, with the party gaining six out of 15 seats on the City Council. Einar, second on the party's list behind Jón, won a seat on the council.

Jón ended up defeating the Independence Party-led municipal government of Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir. His victory is widely seen as a backlash against establishment politicians in the wake of Iceland's 2008-2011 financial crisis.

Jón's political platform included promises of "free towels in all swimming pools, a polar bear for the Reykjavík zoo, all kinds of things for weaklings, Disneyland in the Vatnsmýri area," etc.

Upon being elected, Jón announced that he would not enter a coalition government with anyone that had not watched "The Wire", eventually entering a coalition with the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) as its junior partner to govern Reykjavík.

As mayor, Jón has been a source of amusement and shock. He also protested the Chinese government's treatment of human rights activist Liu Xiaobo. He has stated that the importance of the EU is highly over-rated. On October 30, 2013, Jón Gnarr announced that he would not seek a second term in office when his first term expired in June 2014.

Since leaving office, Gnarr has campaigned for Iceland to abandon its laws requiring citizens to have traditional Icelandic names. Gnarr also authored a book entitled Gnarr!: How I Became the Mayor of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World.

Reviews

[Meike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jón Gnarr is widely known to be the world's coolest politician, and rightly so: After the Icelandic economy collapsed during the banking crisis, the comedian, actor and author ran for mayor of Reykjavik with his newly created "Best Party" in order to shake up a dysfunctional system - and not only did he win, he managed to lead his hometown out of the chaos created by, ähem, actual politicians. Then he resigned to get back to his real job: Being an artist.

"The Outlaw" is the third part of his autobiographical project (the other two being The Pirate and The Indian) which tells the story of young Jón, a kid with learning disabilities who struggles to fit in and find his own place in the world. This last installment shows him as a teenager, and Jónsi Punk (as he is known) is sent to a boarding school for difficult kids in Ísafjörður in the West Fjords. There, he finally finds friends and discovers his love for acting, but he also gets in trouble because of his inability to conform - which leads him into depression and addiction. We also get an unsettling amount of info on his penis! :-)

Listen, you don't read Gnarr's books because of their literary excellence - the laconic tone and strict adherence to a limited teenage perspective are fun, but the psychological writing, descriptions and pacing also leave a lot to be desired. But then, this author is not aiming to be Franz Kafka or win the Nobel, he wants to encourage people to find the strength to overcome adversity and not be crushed by expectations, but to follow their own ideas and passions. He, the working class punk kid who failed in the school system and almost killed himself, could do it, he became a successful artist and he even outplayed the whole system by becoming a mayor helping the city when those who looked down upon him before failed. What a fantastic story, what a fantastic guy, you got to love Jón Gnarr!!

So you should keep in mind that these books are written in the spirit of punk. If you'd like to learn about Jón, the mayor, you can simply pick up Gnarr: How I Became the Mayor of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World.

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jón Gnarr, what a guy! Ein sehr faszinierender Mensch, den man am besten live erleben muss - wenn das gerade keine Option ist, empfiehlt sich seine biografische Reihe über seine rebellische Jugend in Island, hier vorliegend Teil 3 (1 und 2 wurden in der deutschen Ausgabe zusammengefasst), den man auch ohne Vorkenntnisse lesen kann. Gnarr schildert seine wilden Teenagerjahre in einer Art Heim für Schwererziehbare - wie er es trotz seiner Unangepasstheit (Punk!) bis ganz nach oben geschafft hat, hat durchaus Vorbildcharakter, unterhaltsam ist es allemal.

Mehr zum Buch in unserer ausführlichen Besprechung @ Papierstau Podcast: Folge 250: A Song of Ice and Land

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this really the end of the trilogy? It's my favorite of the three. Gnarr brilliantly captures what it is to be a confused, anxious teenager trying to find one's way. The Outlaw felt very real (the drudgery of those years and all), and managed to transport me into the head and mindset of a teenage boy. That's no small task.

I love the triumphant moment when he discovers theater for the first time and finds that, despite everything, there is something in this world he loves and is good at.

I'm awfully sorry to see these books come to a close... I am going to miss Gnarr's company. Here's hoping he keeps writing. Until then, I'm off to go read his book about being the mayor of Reykjavik.

[Margrét Snorradóttir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annar í forsetalestri:
Þessi kom mér á óvart. Fyndin og sorgleg og óþægileg, meira grípandi en ég bjóst við. Gæti alveg hugsað mér að lesa hinar í þríleiknum eftir þessa.

[Magnús · Rating 3 out of 5]

Þetta er merkileg bók um dálítið skrýtinn strák. Höfundur hefur sagt að það hafi tekið verulega á að skrifa þessa sögu og ég trúi því vel. Enda berháttar hann sig bókstaflega, hér er ekkert dregið undan.
Meginþráður bókarinnar fjallar um vist Jóns á Héraðsskólanum á Núpi í Dýrafirði og þau áhrif sem útlegðin þar hafði á hann. Hún fjallar um þunglyndi og erfiðleika í námi, sukk og slæmar ákvarðanir. Það er hreinlega stórmerkilegt að Jón Gnarr hafi náð sér út úr því ástandi sem hann var kominn í.

Maður kynnist þessum áhugaverða karakter betur - ég skil trúðinn, borgarstjórann og manninn betur en ég gerði áður. Mér þykir jafnvel ennþá vænna um hann en áður.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever felt like you don't belong and no one understands, laugh and cringe with the author through this novel and know you were never alone. The trilogy of the author's adolescence comes to a surprising close. Live and learn.

[Una Ragnars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Svo skemmtileg! 🫡 og sæt og funny

[Anna Kristín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jón er lipur penni og það er auðvelt að finna til með óhörnuðum unglingnum sem á hvergi heima. Hvorki meðal ættingjanna í Reykjavík eða jafnaldranna á Núpi. Hann er útlagi sem reynir að finna sér stað í tilverunni. Ég veit ekki hvort það er pólítískt rétt af mér að segja að bókin sé skemmtileg, – til þess er hún allt of full af einsemd og löngun til að tilheyra einhverjum. En ég hafði samt gaman að henni og suma kaflana var unun að lesa meðan aðrir voru erfiðari. Ég ætla að gefa henni fjórar og hálfa stjörnu því ég er búin að hugsa mikið um efni hennar og hún hreyfði við mér.

[Gunnar Hjalmarsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frábær bók!!!

[Frimann Gudmundsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uppvaxtarárin og táningsárin. Mikið rosalega var tíminn á heimavistarskóla ógeðfelldur, enda mikið af vandræðaunglingur komnir þar saman.

Það var skrítin upplifun að lesa söguna, jafnvel niðurdrepandi.

[Birgir Aðalbjarnarson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geggjuð

[Inga Hrund Gunnarsdóttir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mjög góð bók og fljótlesin. Mér finnast hinar tvær bækurnar betri því það eru meiri pælingar og vangaveltur í þessari bók en ég vilnað eitthvað gerist.

[Kristín Lyngdal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Svo hreinskilin og beinskeytt, falleg en um leið sorgleg! Vá!

[Guðbjartur Magnússon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skemmtileg frásögn og ekkert dregið undan. Erfitt að átta sig á hversu langt tímabil þessi frásögn spannar.

[Edda Alfreðsdóttir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Þessi bók er alveg yndisleg og hughreystandi fyrir aðra útlaga og aumingja.

[Sigríður Halldóra Gunnarsdóttir]

Fannst hún aðeins lengi í gang og var við það að gefast upp. Tók pásu og kláraði hana svo, seinni hkutinn fannst mér betri. Mæli með.

[Jón Thor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frábær bók; sorgleg, áhugaverð og fyndinn, einstök þroskasaga. Þetta er feykilega vel gert sem og fyrri sögur hans; Indjáninn og Sjóræninginn.

[Jeff Buddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jon Gnarr and I have at least a few things in common. One of those is an affection for the anarcho-punk band Crass. When I was deep into my own Crass phase, the lyrics of pop musicians seemed pointless, facile, empty. Even other punk seemed lacking. The Sex Pistols sang about "Anarchy in the U.K." but not much was there to understand what that meant. The Clash sang about being oh so bored with the U.S.A., but then planned a money-grabbing tour here. Nothing was as political, or politically revelatory as Crass's "Bloody Revolutions" or "Big A, Little A." I learned a lot from Crass, knowledge I still carry with me today.

In "The Outlaw," the teenage Jon Gnarr believes Crass is the only band that matters. He's not too knowledgeable, fairly ignorant but a smart kid. When he finally hears John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" he thinks that its punk. I think this is what I identify with most. There was a point in my life when I was informed only by the things immediately around me, the things I had discovered myself. I had a smattering of books, a few painters I liked, and a few punk rock and metal records that I'd listen to in constant rotation.

When I got to college, my teachers opened some doors. I gained new appreciation for Shakespeare and Milton, and finally understood what it meant to really READ with a critical eye. But my friends also helped. I learned about Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Graham Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Nancy Griffith, Iris DeMent. I read Flannery O'Connor for the first time. I read Carson McCullers, Charles Bukowski, and Dostoyevsky. Suddenly there was a new world, richer and more beautiful than I had known about before.

I kind of feel like that's what "The Outlaw" is about, a kid realizing for the first time that life is larger than what is immediately around him. It's something that we learn once but always must struggle to remember.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Gnarr, your book will stick with me. (I save "5's" for my top ten lifetime books, and "4's" for really good books. You don't seem easily offended, but I just wanted to explain why you got a "4".)

I first picked this up in the Reykjavik airport, trying to spend down my krona. As I flipped through the book, the topic jumped out at me as something I have never read before. It's the first person account of a teenage boy who doesn't fit in and how he deals with that, and how he grows into himself. He responded to things in ways that I have never experienced, but see fairly often in my job- and have always wondered about why some people think the way they do. Jon would completely surprise me in his logic that a self harming action that will only get him into more trouble, will somehow get him OUT of trouble. Again and again. But as the book progresses, he thinks and does some awesome things. By then I had expected any love or deep thinking to have been beaten out of him.

It is written with a dry sense of humor that caught me off guard. Someday I would love to hang out in a bar with the author to hear more of his stories.

[Margrét Tryggvadóttir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Önnur bókin sem ég hlusta á sem hljóðbók í göngutúrum og ansi harkaleg skipti frá mínum venjulegu heimspekifyrirlestrum og podköstum. Ég hlustaði á hana eiginlega alla í göngutúrum með hundinn snemma á morgnanna í myrkri og kulda og mun hægar en ég er vön að lesa og það jók enn á nöturleikann. Stundum olli bókin mér líkamlegri vanlíðan og mig langaði að spóla áfram. Ég hugsaði með mér að það væri vel skiljanlegt að Jón hefði þurft að skrifa þessa bók og ná utan um þessa lífsreynslu en ég velti fyrir mér hvers vegna ég þyrfti að hlusta. En það var þessi virði. Bókin er ansi mögnuð og mér finnst hún trúverðug þótt hún sé kölluð skáldævisaga og margir hafa efast um efni hennar.

[Örvar Steingrímsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alveg hreint mögnuð bók. Ótrúlega skemmtilegar lýsingar og gefur manni góða sýn inn í karakterinn Jón Gnarr. Rekur lífsleið hans frá því að vera ca. 14-18/19 ára.
Jón hefur alltaf verið góður sögumaður og kemur þessu efni mjög vel frá sér. Maður lifir sig vel inni karakterinn.
Kennir manni að dæma ekki fólk út frá því hvernig það vegnar í skóla, hann hefur gert mjög vel miðað við hvert hann stefndi á tímabili.
Fannst þetta mjög skemmtileg bók þó svo að hún sé ekki að fjalla um skemmtilega hluti.

[Sara Hlín · Rating 3 out of 5]

Áhugaverð lesning. Mjög hreinskilin frásögn af eigin unglingsárum sem láta hann ekki líta sérlega vel út. Í raun stórmerkilegt hvað varð síðan úr þessum dreng. 14 ára gerir hans sér ekki grein fyrir röðun mánaða og eina sem hann skynjar eru árstíðir. Spáir ekki í vikudaga og fellur á öllum prófum. Fannst bókin langdrengin á tímabili en skánar eftir því sem líður á.

[Kollster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Þessi bók hefur hlotið mikla athygli enda ekki að ástæðulausu. Þetta er með betri ævisögum sem ég hef lesið , þó hún fjalli eingöngu um hluta af ævi Jóns. Einlæg og hispurslaus frásögn í alla staði.
Situr eftir og hrærist í manni lengi vel.
Mæli klárlega með.

[Ida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ég var ekki yfir mig hrifin af þessari bók, fannst vanta einhverja fyllingu til að hún næði að snerta mig. Ákveðnar endurtekningar sem voru óþarfi og svolítið vaðið úr einu í annað. Og nördinn í mér pirrast yfir lélegum prófarkalestri!

[Helena Aspelund · Rating 3 out of 5]

384 blaðsíður af minningum..ég þurfti að taka mér frí eftir ca 340 bls. Eftir fríið las ég rest og er því minningin góð af bókinni. Ég held að þetta sé mín lengsta lesna bókin til þessa.