Wasteland with Words: A Social History of Iceland

by Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon

Iceland is an enigmatic island country marked by contradiction: it’s a part of Europe, yet separated from it by the Atlantic Ocean; it’s seemingly inhospitable, yet home to more than 300,000. Wasteland with Words explores these paradoxes to uncover the mystery of Iceland.

In Wasteland with Words Sigurdur Gylfi Magnússon presents a wide-ranging and detailed analysis of the island’s history that examines the evolution and transformation of Icelandic culture while investigating the literary and historical factors that created the rich cultural heritage enjoyed by Icelanders today. Magnússon explains how a nineteenth-century economy based on the industries of fishing and agriculture—one of the poorest in Europe—grew to become a disproportionately large economic power in the late twentieth century, while retaining its strong sense of cultural identity. Bringing the story up to the present, he assesses the recent economic and political collapse of the country and how Iceland has coped. Throughout Magnússon seeks to chart the vast changes in this country’s history through the impact and effect on the Icelandic people themselves.

Up-to-date and fascinating, Wasteland with Words is a comprehensive study of the island’s cultural and historical development, from tiny fishing settlements to a global economic power.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel, Sociology

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2010

Reviews

[Lara Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and well-written. Readers already familiar with Icelandic history might find it repetitive at times but nevertheless interesting. Pity that it only covers the time period until the financial crisis.

[Brad Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigurður Gylfi does a brilliant job annotating and revising the history of Iceland, from about 1800 until the present, using primary resources from common folk. In academic but still colorful language, he overturns myths of Icelandic homogeneity, seamless progress, revolutionary change, and public consensus. Using the words of the people that lived the transformations, he paints pictures that are far more fragmented, contentious, and continuous than the "just so" and teleological histories we often seem to tell ourselves. I enjoyed learning about the vivid depredations of life at a time when people struggled to produce enough calories for themselves and their families, many lived "on the parish," urine was used to wash clothes (about twice a year), and peoples' freedoms (movement, work, sex, marriage etc.) were circumscribed to a degree unimaginable to dwellers in affluent modernity. I was amazed (but should not have been...) to read about the restrictions, examinations, and forced migrations of women during the war years, when British and American service men were seen as an existential threat to the nation's "purity." I'd have liked to read more in this vein, about how it was to live as a woman in the old system. Unfortunately, here as elsewhere in the world, there are few if any accounts from women, so we don't really know. All in all, this book does two things I expect of great histories: it tells messy (in this case very literally), but realistic stories and it makes past lives and passions vivid for modern audiences.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigurdur's use of primary sources, from the letters, journals and other writings of ordinary people, as well as commentary from newspaper articles, gives insight into the realities of life in Iceland over the last two or three hundred years.
For anyone at all familiar with Iceland, the remarkable transition from desperate agrarian poverty to prosperous urbanised modernity is already known. However, it is the personal perspectives and even commonly held attitudes that add depth and colour to this history. An example is the stoic and even taciturn response to tragedy and death: even children tended to internalise their feelings, or express them in poetry or other writing (shades of Egil here!)
Again, for those who have read the novels of Halldor Laxness and other writers, there are few surprises as far as the social, political and economic conditions are concerned: they have been described so authentically in the fiction.
Sigurdur also takes issue with the political system, examining the patronage and cronyism that created many of the problems that Iceland has experienced, especially the hrun, or crash, of 2008. He also criticises the 'head-in-the-sand' attitudes of much of the Icelandic voting public, a situation that is sadly prevalent throughout the world.
There were both redundancies and omissions in this book, but on the whole, it was a very useful work for those of us who are interested in Icelandic social history.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about the social history of Iceland, a country I've visited twice. Of note is how little the Icelandic language has changed over the many years, unlike other Scandinavian languages that have been influenced by closer contact with the rest of Europe. Also, the extraordinary literacy of the population throughout the ages despite isolation, few published books and few schools. The author finishes with a short chapter on the sense the Icelandic people have had of being "different" and often "better" compared to other western countries, until the extreme financial meltdown in 2008 proved how similar their problems (with corruption and financial malfeasance) were to the larger countries of Europe and the US.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it appears relatively small in terms of page count, Wasteland with Words is a detailed look at Icelandic social history. The only downside is that the early history is far more detailed and more deeply explored than more recent events, particularly the financial crisis and its causes. However, for anyone curious about the social history of his unique country, this is definitely an enlightening account.

[Valdemar Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best History books I've read recently. The methods employed and the narration is as addicting as fascinating. "From little we can see all".

I highly reccommend to anyone interested in icelandic History and I dare to say it almost englobes all the curiosities and questions I've had about icelandic society.

[Lee-Anne Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and well researched book, drawing on a wealth of historical letters and texts, providing a thorough insight into the history and culture of Iceland,laid out in easy to digest chapters.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Wasteland with Words" helped me make sense of the Icelandic people's progression from early settlement to the Viking and saga eras, through the extended Middle Ages' slow modernization to the rapid development following World War II. I feel like I came to know a few of the Icelanders whose autobiographical writings are featured, the most memorable of them having written in the nineteenth century. I appreciated the personalized approach, and some chapters, especially those dealing with children and death, had quite the emotional impact. I came to admire the people who stoically struggled through such unforgiving times and environmental factors. At times, though, the writing felt a bit tedious and some themes and characteristics of the Icelanders seemed to have been needlessly repeated over a number of chapters. I was also a bit surprised by the tone of the closing chapter, which deals with the 2008 financial crisis. While most of the blame is appropriately placed on the politicians and business leaders that promoted and arrogantly flaunted the financial prowess of the tiny nation leading up to the crash, Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon's psychoanalysis suggests an inferiority complex that compels the Icelanders to push themselves to perform so well on the global financial stage that the outcome can only be failure and ruin. This may all be historically accurate, but I felt some disconnect between the stoic, survivalist nationalists that seemed to encompass most of this book and the overly confident, consumerist, apparently afflicted citizenry of the last chapter whose latent sense of inferiority led the country to the financial brink. The gap between the Icelanders of old, featured in most of the book, was not quite adequately linked (logically and emotionally) to the Icelanders discussed in the last chapter or two. Nevertheless, I felt connected to many of the people featured in these pages and I enjoyed the unique perspective offered by the book's scattered and numerous autobiographical vignettes. The book fueled my fascination with this tiny North Atlantic nation and its amazing people, and I hope more books of this kind are published in the future.

[Margo Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting overview of the social history of Iceland. Pulling from letter and autobiographies, Sigurdur provides an interesting characterization of a people simultaneously locked in medieval times up to and even into the 20th century, while simultaneously thirsting for knowledge and self understanding. This dichotomy of extremely poor surroundings and rich intellectual lives makes the Icelandic people unique. Some of the passages in this book are so horrifying that you could literally gag while reading them, while others show such deep self acknowledgement, that you will be left speechless. Anyone contemplating traveling to Iceland, or who just wants to know more about what life was like in an forbidding place would do well to read this book to understand the complex psyche of Icelanders.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendid. A "micro-historical" study - the historical geography, and social and literary history of Iceland. Particularly interesting on the "farmer-poet" tradition, and the manuscripts which have survived - the diaries and autobiographical writings of ordinary Icelandic people (mainly 19th/20th century). There is much in this that reminds me of Wales - beirdd gwlad, &c.. The photographs are fascinating (although many are undated). He concludes with a look at recent events, and an attempt at explaining how modern politicians and economists might have been led astray by the weight given to the Icelandic myth, and his explanation for Icelandic sensitivity to perceived external criticism is interesting.

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book taught me about the history of Iceland, a country that I knew nothing about until I went there on holiday. Not being a historian myself, I found this "social history" approach to be unstructured and sometimes illogical. The author jumps between topics instead of presenting a coherent chronology. He also has no understanding of economics that I can find. I learned about the social character of Icelanders, but feel I still need a "proper" history book to really understand the history itself.

[Nell Chitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very approachable book on the social history of Iceland equipped with many anecdotes and photographs. The book deals mostly with the 1700's onwards and left me wondering "Why?" at many times as there were blanks in some places as to theories on why cultural shifts occurred or why certain practices were in place. However, all in all it is a very interesting book that was a pleasure to read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating social history, concentrating on the everyday life of Icelanders through the very hard life of past centuries. Chooses extracts from diaries and letters, supplemented by photos and a photo essay. Breaks from the earlier style in the two final chapters and these are not quite so successful. Great background for reading Halldor Laxness's novels.

[Salem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but the review led me to expect a much better book.