Iceland: A Literary Guide for Travellers

by Marcel Krueger

A guide to Iceland's rich literary heritage--from Norse witches to contemporary crime fiction.

Iceland is an island of multiple identities, of constant flux, just like its unruly volcanic ground. As much shaped by storytelling as it is by tectonic activity, Iceland's literary heritage is one of Europe's richest--and most ancient. Its stories have been passed down through the told and retold by sheep farmers, psalm-writers, travelling reverends, independence fighters, scholars and hedonists. From the captivating Norse myths, which continue to inspire contemporary authors such as A.S. Byatt, to gripping Scandinavian crime fiction and Game of Thrones, via Jules Verne and J.R.R Tolkien, W.H. Auden and Seamus Heaney, Iceland's influence has spread far beyond its frozen shores. Peopled by Norse maidens and witches, elves and outlaws and taking the reader and traveller from Reykjavik and the Bay of Smokes to the remote Westfjords and desolate highlands, this is an enthralling portrait of the Land of Ice and Fire.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published May 19, 2020

About the author

Marcel Krueger is a German non-fiction writer and translator living in Dundalk. Through the prism of family history and his own existence as emigrant he explores the tragedies and violence of European 20th century history and what these mean for memory, identity and migration today, in the tradition of writers like W.G. Sebald, Dubravka Ugrešić and Martin Pollack. His often melancholic writing is always deeply rooted in arts, pop culture, and place. His articles and essays have been published in The Guardian, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Irish Times, the Calvert Journal, and CNN Travel, amongst others, and Marcel also works as the books editor of Berlin-based 'Elsewhere - A Journal of Place'. He was a participant of the 'X-Borders' Project of the Irish Writers Centre in 2018, and together with Anne Mager explores borders and their political, social and cultural consequences in the interdisciplinary arts project `the corridor´. He has translated Wolfgang Borchert, Jörg Fauser and John Höxter into English and Gerður Kristný, Louis MacNeice and W.H. Auden into German.

Reviews

[Chris Aylott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Icelandic tourist industry has had its ups and downs, but this literary tour should attract a lot of readers. Krueger wanders all over the country, turning over rocks and finding stories from the ancient sagas to contemporary novels under pretty much all of them.

There's plenty to choose from, since Icelanders are among the most book-crazed people on the planet, and Krueger has something interesting to say about just about everywhere. The spectacular landscape also stands out, and I can't shake the feeling that the entire island is an incredibly well-constructed D&D campaign setting.

[Joy]

This was not at all what I expected! I thought that “Iceland: A Literary Guide for Travelers” was going to be a selection of writings from Icelandic writers. It is not. But I’m also not entirely sure what this *is*. It’s basically writing by a guy who is talking through regions of Iceland and saying misc literary facts about them. I didn’t really get it; it felt sort of like being on the receiving end of someone who wants to tell you everything they know. I feel a bit bad because this guy clearly knows lots of literature-related facts about Iceland, but I’m not sure this presentation approach is very useful.