McSweeney's Issue 15: The Icelandic Issue

McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #15

by Dave Eggers (Editor)

Issue 15 is also known as the "Icelandic Issue." Printed in Iceland, half of the stories are written by actual Icelandic writers. And the kicker? It also comes with a Icelandic tabloid mini-mag filled with words you won't understand and images that speak for themselves.

Included in this issue are new stories from Roddy Doyle, Steven Millhauser and many exceptional newcomers: Guðbergur Bergsson, Birna Anna Björnsdóttir, Kiara Brinkman, Judy Budnitz, Jimmy Chen, Þórarinn Eldjárn, Gyrðir Elíasson, Seth Fried, Einar Már Guðmundsson, Eric Hanson, Silja Hauksdóttir, Hallgrímur Helgason, Roy Kesey, Andri Snœr Magnason, Bragi Ólafsson, Padgett Powell, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Sjón, Oddný Sturludóttir.

Hardcover, bound in fine cloth. This issue makes us want to sit by a fireplace on a snowy day.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Literature, Scandinavian Literature

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2005

About the author

Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is best known for his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of several notable literary and philanthropic ventures, including the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the literacy project 826 Valencia, and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness. Additionally, he founded ScholarMatch, a program that connects donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in numerous prestigious publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine.

Reviews

[Aloke]

If you live in Brooklyn they actually have a shelf of this issue (the Iceland issue) at Superhero Supply for only $5!

[Charlotte Kartz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my type of book. Some of the short stories were interesting, but i also found some of them hard to get through, and it almost made me want to skip the short story because it lacked my attention....

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

So it turns out I'm not that into 90% Icelandic fiction. The non-Icelandic stories were great. Before you get all up in arms and call me anti-Icelandic I would just like to point out that I have several Bjork albums.

[A-ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite issue of McSweeney's, but as always, I really appreciate that they go out of their way to showcase literature from small countries. Now, Iceland, a land with more authors per capital than any other, is famous for their literature. The selections in this collection were fine, nothing mind-blowing, but I didn't find them as dull as many of the other reviewers here. Maybe they were off-put as I was by the first "Fridrik and the Eejit" which was not interesting and went on for a good 25 pages. Most of the native-English fiction was entertaining, but not amazing. It's strange. As much as a I felt this issue was a bit of slog and I didn't enjoy it, I was able to isolate a lot of standouts:

Steve Millhauser's "A Precursor of the Cinema" was a psuedo-essay on "forgotten" painter and his almost magical creations. A third of the way through, I actually went on google to read about him because the story was so convincing. (I mean by the end, it was clear it was fiction.

I enjoyed Roddy Doyle's tale of drifter in "I understand".

Roy Kesey's "Asuncion" was bizarre and captivating, the story of robbery gone weird.

Judy Bundnitz "Sales" was notable because of its strange symbolism. It was oddly captivating.

"Midnight" by Eric Hanson is a parable involving Stalin.

"Orphans" was another bizarre, but entertaining offering.

Gyrdir Eliasson's "Seven Stories" was short but symbolic.

My favorite from the collection was Einar MarGudmundsson's stream-of-consciousness "Univited"
about a young boy dealing with the consequences of bullying a friend. Hilarious and fun.

"A rush of Wings" by Porarinn Eldjarn about being taken by an eagle.

"A room Underground" by Gudbergur Bergsson about a man's secret love affair was interesting.

[Hayden J Amaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great short stories in this collection. Good introduction to contemporary Icelandic and American shortform fiction.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good issue, but not the best.

To future self: I enjoyed most pieces by Millhauser, Budnitz, Hanson, Powell, Gudmundson, and Magnason. Do you agree?

[Kendall · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Icelandic stories were a bit of a slog. Bits and pieces of them left a lasting mark, as any good story should, but mostly I found them to be more work than pleasure.

[Jasen · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Roddy Doyle story was great but got lost in the wilds of the Icelandic fiction. Not my cup of tea.

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hits and misses, but more misses for me. I'm not a big fan of very "out there" short stories.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always interesting reading stories written by authors from different countries, set in those countries. I know nothing about/don't understand Icelandic culture!

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm finding McSweeneys perfect for BART riding. Each story lasts from two to four rides, and there's not the anxiety of where I left off and how much rereading needs to take place to catch up, because short stories are so, well, short. It's been a while since the short story genre appealed to me, but now that I'm back in a commutery lifestyle, they are back to being perfect. Commutery in the sense that someone else is doing the steering. Which tells you nothing about the stories and more about my state of life. The stories were decent. I liked many of them. The icelandic flavoring is lonely, but not cloyingly so. Good for those of us who have spent the bulk of our lives in some state of loneliness, so can relate to a tech of it but don't need a battalion of heartbroken ghosts parading about in print.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

My interest in this installment of McSweeney’s was mainly for the contemporary Icelandic literature, of which there are about 150 pages here--including both novel excerpts and short stories. Unfortunately, none of it is especially memorable, and a few of the longer pieces so bored me that I didn’t finish them.

However, three pieces were of moderate interest; that is, the stories were very nearly… about something! They at least had a strong scenario at the back of them to give your imagination something to chew on. These three were: “My Room” by Bragi Olafsson, “A Rush of Wings” by Porarinn Eldjarn, and “Interference” by Andri Snaer Magnason. Also, for the English stuff, Benjamin Rosenbaum’s “Orphans” is an amusing, and every-so-clever little riff on the Babar children’s books.

[Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember feeling worse about this issue after finishing it than I do now. The second half (the Icelandic fiction half) dragged a lot more than the first half. It was very uneven and the best Icelandic stories were still slow starters. Still, "America", "Fridrik and the Eejit" and "My Room" were excellent. The American half was similarly uneven. "Manifesto" might be my least favorite piece in any McSweeney's. Blech. However, "A Precursor of the Cinema" was haunting and gorgeously wrought. I was completely absorbed by its tone and the storytelling was absolutely masterful. More please. I also really liked Roddy Doyle's piece and "Midnight" by Eric Hanson. Nothing too exciting about the packaging although the cover art was nice.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any collection of short stories from multiple authors, this one was a mixed bag, but I did learn that Icelandic authors are not ones I will be seeking out in the future. This issue redeems itself with a few standouts that I think I particularly appreciated because it's been so long since I've read a truly imaginative story. Steven Millhauser's A Precurser of the Cinema was an engaging and creative read, as was the last story, excerpted from LoveStar, by Icelandic author Andri Snær Magnason. Roddy Doyle's I Understand was pretty good too, but I was already a fan.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This edition of McSweeney's featured my first published short story in many years. MIDNIGHT is a satiric and very sanguinary parable about an imagined meeting between a trade unionist and Joseph Stalin. But its political commentary is about the rough equivalence in terms of motives and methods between the extreme right and the extreme left. The conjuring tricks of the Commintern and the Hoover Institution are not that different. It's ironic that this story appears in the "Icelandic Issue" considering what pure market capitalism did to that island nation.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second half of this issue of McSweeney's is all Icelandic fiction. I liked getting to know a (very) little about Iceland's literary culture and style, and my interest is piqued. I'd love to read more by these authors.
Otherwise, we have the typical high-quality writing and beautiful book design I've come to expect from McSweeney's. Sure, there are stand-out stories, and subtler ones, but no real duds here. Short fiction is so refreshing sometimes.

I really am just a pretentious McSweeney's fangirl.

[Eric Hinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool book! The first half is short stories from mostly American authors, and the second half is contemporary Icelandic writers. That section is the real highlight of this collection. It's exposed me to a lot of fascinating writers, and I've gone out and bought about 8 books from those authors already. A lot of the stories are extracted from their novels, for some reason, but it's a great introduction to what is currently* happening in Icelandic fiction.

*I guess this was published about 10 years ago, but I digress...

[Paul McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this point I'm figuring out how to read these things. I stopped reading a selection from a novel called "Uninvited" - just a mess. I barely finished the story about an underground room.

The first story, "Precursor to the Cinema" by Steven Millhauser, was a standout, as was "Interference" from /LoveStar/ by Magnason. /Nerve City/, another selection from an Icelandic novel, was also one of the better ones in this collection.

[Bryan Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half (non-Icelandic stories) - 5 stars
Second half (Iceladic stories) - 3 stars

Most of what McSweeney's puts out is worth reading, and I generally trust their story curation. But there's something about Icelandic fiction that just doesn't translate into English, I think. I was there last year and picked up a few "recommended" books, and I'm feeling like, in a country where 1 in 10 people has published a book, maybe some of them need to find a new hobby...

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection... half of the book was the traditional mix of authors and the other half all authors from Iceland. The Iceland half felt foreign in some ways, although I'm sure most of that was my knowing their source. I liked the folktale quality to some of the stories and some were the usual McSweeney's fare and fit right in.

[Molly]

I bought this at Powells in Portland, and still haven't read it. An entire issue on Icelandic modern literature, which is pretty cool if you ask me--darkness, madness, drinking, violence. All Laxness wrote about was sheep.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of the stories were good, but I only really loved two: "A Precursor of the Cinema" and "Uninvited". It gets an extra star for making me think about the concept of the citizen artist--as described in the intrduction to the Icelandic half of the book.

[Heather Pagano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I'm looking for out of a McSweeney's issue- every story was vivid and memorable. Not that I liked each and every story, but they all grabbed my attention and gave me to a unique experience or perspective, and many characters or situations still pop up in my mind weeks later.

[katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This particular collection briefly changed the way I thought about things. Mostly, it made me dream about going to Iceland.

[T.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the Icelandic fiction in this issue.

[Jeffrey Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

bought for the cover--completely uninteresting writing.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this issue; the Icelandic stories are especially treasures. If you read only one, make it "Uninvited" by Einar Mar Gumundsson.

[e. d'alessandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

who knew icelandic short stories could be so entertaining?

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I REALLY wanted to like the Icelandic fiction in the second half, I have to agree with others that I skipped a lot. The first half was more solidly good.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um, sure. I like that they printed it in Iceland. It just didn't hold my interest, so I decided to move on. I still enjoy McSweeney's.