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Reading the City: A City in Short Fiction
The Book of Reykjavik: A City in Short Fiction
Featuring Friðgeir Einarsson, Kristín Eiríksdóttir, Þórarinn Eldjárn, Einar Már Guðmundsson, Björn Halldórsson, Fríða Ísberg, Auður Jónsdóttir, Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir, Andri Snær Magnason & Ágúst Borgþór Sverrisson
Reluctant to observe a new family tradition, a boy finds himself stranded outside a graveyard on the night before Christmas...
Three farming brothers, forced to relocate to the city by poor harvests, discover an unexpected demand for their green-fingered talents...
Residents of a new apartment block are woken in the early hours by the eerie sound of a table saw that once operated on the building’s grounds...
Iceland is a land of stories; from the epic sagas of its mythic past, to its claim today of being home to more writers, more published books and more avid readers, per head, than anywhere in the world. As its capital (and indeed only city), Reykjavik has long been an inspiration for these stories. But, as this collection demonstrates, this fishing-village-turned-metropolis at the farthest fringe of Europe has been both revered and reviled by Icelanders over the years. The tension between the city and the surrounding countryside, its rural past and urban present, weaves its way through The Book of Reykjavik, forming an outline of a fragmented city marked by both contradiction and creativity.
Includes a foreword written by award-winning Icelandic author Sjón.
Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb, Philip Roughton, Lytton Smith, Meg Matich and Larissa Kyzer.
Published with the support of the Icelandic Literature Center.
Reluctant to observe a new family tradition, a boy finds himself stranded outside a graveyard on the night before Christmas...
Three farming brothers, forced to relocate to the city by poor harvests, discover an unexpected demand for their green-fingered talents...
Residents of a new apartment block are woken in the early hours by the eerie sound of a table saw that once operated on the building’s grounds...
Iceland is a land of stories; from the epic sagas of its mythic past, to its claim today of being home to more writers, more published books and more avid readers, per head, than anywhere in the world. As its capital (and indeed only city), Reykjavik has long been an inspiration for these stories. But, as this collection demonstrates, this fishing-village-turned-metropolis at the farthest fringe of Europe has been both revered and reviled by Icelanders over the years. The tension between the city and the surrounding countryside, its rural past and urban present, weaves its way through The Book of Reykjavik, forming an outline of a fragmented city marked by both contradiction and creativity.
Includes a foreword written by award-winning Icelandic author Sjón.
Translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb, Philip Roughton, Lytton Smith, Meg Matich and Larissa Kyzer.
Published with the support of the Icelandic Literature Center.
Kindle Edition
First published August 12, 2021
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229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 25, 2022
Reykyavik Shorts
Review of the Comma Press paperback edition (August 2021)
Average [3.8] so rounds up as a strong [4]
The Book of Reykyavik provides an excellent variety of short stories centred around the world of the city of Reykyavik, Iceland. It is part of Comma Press' Reading the City/A City in Short Fiction series along with titles such as The Book of Khartoum: A City in Short Fiction, The Book of Cairo: A City in Short Fiction, etc.
The stories tend to lean towards nordic melancholy, which is ok by me with me with my Estonian heritage background. The themes are often about people being distanced from partners, family or even their homeland, but still making an effort to seek connection. Almost all of the authors were new to me except for Sjón who provides an excellent Foreword and Kristín Eiríksdóttir (Story #6) whose A Fist or a Heart (Orig 2017/Trans 2019) I had previously enjoyed in both its audiobook and paperback editions, which was also translated by Larissa Kyzer.
1. Island by Friðgeir Einarsson translated by Larissa Kyzer. ** An ex-pat returns home to Reykyavik for his mother's funeral and discovers that he has become completely unassimilated from its culture.
2. The Gardeners by Einar Már Guðmundsson translated by Victoria Cribb. ***** A trio of brothers, give up on farming life and move to the city to become landscape gardeners. They move in with a recluse scholar who yearns for a quiet place to do his Icelandic poetry translations and who also communicates with the dead. The humour in this one made it a standout.
3. Keep Sleeping, My Love by Andri Snær Magnason translated by Lytton Smith. **** Leaving his lover sleeping, a man sneaks off in order to search for something to rekindle their relationship.
4. Home by Fríða Ísberg translated by Larissa Kyzer. *** After a night of partying, a woman walks home through the deserted streets of Reykyavik in fear of possible assaults.
5. Two Foxes by Björn Halldórsson translated by Larissa Kyzer. **** An insomniac, whose marriage has grown distant, awakes and goes for a cigarette on a balcony. He observes two foxes going off into the dawn.
6. Without You, I'm Half by Kristín Eiríksdóttir ***** translated by Larissa Kyzer. A man reminisces about his past relationships while staying at home to duck out of going to a party where he suspects he is being set up with his friend's girlfriend.
7. Reykjavik Nights by Auður Jónsdóttir translated by Meg Matich. *** A writer describes her wild one night stand to her publisher friend.
8. Incursion by Þórarinn Eldjárn translated by Philip Roughton. **** The inhabitants of a new apartment complex built on a torn down sawmill site believe that the building is haunted by the ghosts of its previous workers and machines.
9. When His Eyes are on You, You're the Virgin Mary by Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir translated by Meg Matich. **** An odd encounter with a man becomes even odder with a subsequent encounter with a washroom attendant.
10. The Dead are Here with Us at Christmas by Ágúst Borgþór Sverrisson translated by Lytton Smith. **** A young boy is resentful of having to go with his mother to his brother's gravesite for a Christmas candle ritual. The story leaves the sense of being an actual childhood memory written in adulthood.
I read The Book of Reykyavik due to its selection for the 2021 Borderless Book Club for which it was the initial July 29, 2021 selection. Due to a publication delay, it was replaced by The Book of Venice: A City in Short Fiction (also 2021) in the final selection.
Trivia and Links
The Comma Press blog features an interview with translator Larissa Kyzer (who translated 4 of the 10 stories in The Book of Reykyavik) which you can read here.
Review of the Comma Press paperback edition (August 2021)
Average [3.8] so rounds up as a strong [4]
The Book of Reykyavik provides an excellent variety of short stories centred around the world of the city of Reykyavik, Iceland. It is part of Comma Press' Reading the City/A City in Short Fiction series along with titles such as The Book of Khartoum: A City in Short Fiction, The Book of Cairo: A City in Short Fiction, etc.
The stories tend to lean towards nordic melancholy, which is ok by me with me with my Estonian heritage background. The themes are often about people being distanced from partners, family or even their homeland, but still making an effort to seek connection. Almost all of the authors were new to me except for Sjón who provides an excellent Foreword and Kristín Eiríksdóttir (Story #6) whose A Fist or a Heart (Orig 2017/Trans 2019) I had previously enjoyed in both its audiobook and paperback editions, which was also translated by Larissa Kyzer.
1. Island by Friðgeir Einarsson translated by Larissa Kyzer. ** An ex-pat returns home to Reykyavik for his mother's funeral and discovers that he has become completely unassimilated from its culture.
2. The Gardeners by Einar Már Guðmundsson translated by Victoria Cribb. ***** A trio of brothers, give up on farming life and move to the city to become landscape gardeners. They move in with a recluse scholar who yearns for a quiet place to do his Icelandic poetry translations and who also communicates with the dead. The humour in this one made it a standout.
3. Keep Sleeping, My Love by Andri Snær Magnason translated by Lytton Smith. **** Leaving his lover sleeping, a man sneaks off in order to search for something to rekindle their relationship.
4. Home by Fríða Ísberg translated by Larissa Kyzer. *** After a night of partying, a woman walks home through the deserted streets of Reykyavik in fear of possible assaults.
5. Two Foxes by Björn Halldórsson translated by Larissa Kyzer. **** An insomniac, whose marriage has grown distant, awakes and goes for a cigarette on a balcony. He observes two foxes going off into the dawn.
6. Without You, I'm Half by Kristín Eiríksdóttir ***** translated by Larissa Kyzer. A man reminisces about his past relationships while staying at home to duck out of going to a party where he suspects he is being set up with his friend's girlfriend.
7. Reykjavik Nights by Auður Jónsdóttir translated by Meg Matich. *** A writer describes her wild one night stand to her publisher friend.
8. Incursion by Þórarinn Eldjárn translated by Philip Roughton. **** The inhabitants of a new apartment complex built on a torn down sawmill site believe that the building is haunted by the ghosts of its previous workers and machines.
9. When His Eyes are on You, You're the Virgin Mary by Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir translated by Meg Matich. **** An odd encounter with a man becomes even odder with a subsequent encounter with a washroom attendant.
10. The Dead are Here with Us at Christmas by Ágúst Borgþór Sverrisson translated by Lytton Smith. **** A young boy is resentful of having to go with his mother to his brother's gravesite for a Christmas candle ritual. The story leaves the sense of being an actual childhood memory written in adulthood.
I read The Book of Reykyavik due to its selection for the 2021 Borderless Book Club for which it was the initial July 29, 2021 selection. Due to a publication delay, it was replaced by The Book of Venice: A City in Short Fiction (also 2021) in the final selection.
Trivia and Links
The Comma Press blog features an interview with translator Larissa Kyzer (who translated 4 of the 10 stories in The Book of Reykyavik) which you can read here.
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July 12, 2021Very interesting insight into Icelandic culture and people. I especially enjoyed the mixture of nature, folklore and love for writing and all in all found this to be a very atmospheric and immersive collection.
March 23, 2024
Great little collection of short stories about Reykjavik. I’d never heard of this series before, and I love the idea. This gave a really nice glimpse into modern day Reykjavik life (through fiction).
August 19, 2021
Great collection! I liked the stories by Björn Halldórsson and Fríða Ísberg the best.
May 20, 2023
One of the things I love, love, loved about Reykjavik was the sheer number and variety of bookstores packed into the tiny city. Picked this one up at the Salka sale happening at the hotel we were staying at, because I’ve seen something similar for Dhaka.
It is always interesting to view a city from the perspective of its natives, particularly when they’re not very fond of it. Orhan Pamuk made a whole book bitching about Istanbul, and this little collection here is a lovely sampler of shorts from various Icelandic writers through the decades. We practically get to chart its growth from a small port into the bustling capital, through the grumblings of citizens so accustomed to their country’s stunning natural vistas as to no longer be dazzled, and a sort of urbane melancholy seeps into their thoughts. There’s the insomniac pondering the slow decline of his marital bliss, who meets a fox and realises life is beautiful. There are three displaced farmers who find a new life as city gardeners. There is a newly divorced woman slowly wading back into the dating pool. The stories are pithy, poetic and introspective; testament to the skills of this storytelling nation, and while I liked some more than others, as a collection they whetted my appetite for essays so I am happy with this collection
It is always interesting to view a city from the perspective of its natives, particularly when they’re not very fond of it. Orhan Pamuk made a whole book bitching about Istanbul, and this little collection here is a lovely sampler of shorts from various Icelandic writers through the decades. We practically get to chart its growth from a small port into the bustling capital, through the grumblings of citizens so accustomed to their country’s stunning natural vistas as to no longer be dazzled, and a sort of urbane melancholy seeps into their thoughts. There’s the insomniac pondering the slow decline of his marital bliss, who meets a fox and realises life is beautiful. There are three displaced farmers who find a new life as city gardeners. There is a newly divorced woman slowly wading back into the dating pool. The stories are pithy, poetic and introspective; testament to the skills of this storytelling nation, and while I liked some more than others, as a collection they whetted my appetite for essays so I am happy with this collection
March 14, 2024
what a wonderful, insightful collection into icelandic culture and people.
i particularly enjoyed the point of views that weren't fond of the land - as an outsider i found it intriguing to read about how unfazed some natives become of their land's natural scenery.
overall, this collection provides a chronological overview of the island's history, mixed with melancholy, nature, love and grief which gives the reader a pleasant atmospheric and immersive reading experience.
i particularly enjoyed the point of views that weren't fond of the land - as an outsider i found it intriguing to read about how unfazed some natives become of their land's natural scenery.
overall, this collection provides a chronological overview of the island's history, mixed with melancholy, nature, love and grief which gives the reader a pleasant atmospheric and immersive reading experience.
January 31, 2023
I've awarded this 5 stars. That's not say that all the stories are 5 stars, but that it works so well as a collection giving you different experiences and viewpoints of Reykjavik. I bought this to accompany a short holiday to the 'Sin City', and to that end, it helped to add a bit more flavour to the experience.
April 14, 2023
A mixed bag
I was drawn more to one or two of the stories. Some were so brief I wouldn't describe them as full stories. It does give an interesting insight into the creative world of Reykjavik, taken all together
I was drawn more to one or two of the stories. Some were so brief I wouldn't describe them as full stories. It does give an interesting insight into the creative world of Reykjavik, taken all together
September 28, 2024
Reading this while travelling around Iceland for two weeks and spending 3 days in the city was brilliant. The language is highly evocative and has an immense sense of place. The different authors have been well curated
November 13, 2022
I enjoyed some of the short stories, but the others were a bit lost on me. I thought the book would give me more of an insight into life in the city than it did.
September 26, 2023
A solemn, introspective collection of stories centered around the slow-paced emotional processing of the passing of time set in a place as expansive as it is bottled up.
January 21, 2022
Short stories (sunny for the most part) set in the capital of Iceland........
Some stories better than others. Short quick read.
Some stories better than others. Short quick read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews