Product Description

When the Americans make an offer to buy Icelandic land to build an atomic war base, a storm of protest is provoked throughout the country and it is here that Laxness finds the catalyst for his story. Told by a country girl from the north the novel follows her experiences upon taking up employment as a maid in the house of her Member of Parliament. She finds herself in a world very different to that of her upbringing and, marvelling at the customs and behaviour of the people around her, she emerges as the one obstinate reality in a world of fantasy. Her observations and experiences expose the intellectual society of the south as rootless and shallow and in stark contrast to the ancient culture of the solid and less fanciful north. The colourful, yet at times dark, cast of characters whom she meets personify the southern fantasy world. In this black comedy Laxness has painted a masterpiece of social commentary as relevant today as when it was first written in 1948.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #927311 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-19
• Original language: Icelandic
• Binding: Paperback
• 204 pages

Fay Weldon, Daily Telegraph
"Laxness is a poet who writes to the edges of the pages, a visionary who allows us a plot."

Nicholas Shakespeare
"To read Laxness is to discover an extra taste bud. He creates a world that belongs in another dimension"

About the Author
Halldor Laxness (1908 - 98) was born near Reykjavik, Iceland. His first novel was published when he was 17. The undisputed masetr of contemporary Icelandic fiction and one of the outstanding novelists of the twentieth century, he has written more than 60 books. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955.

Customer Reviews

a stunning story of politics, personal hope, and salvation
In the Atom Station, Halldor Laxness demonstrates the skill and complexity that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The novel tells the story of a simple lass from the north of Iceland who comes face to face with the duplicity of politicians who sell out Icelandic sovereignty for the sake of a nuclear station during the cold war. She also comes to some realizations about herself and the importance of social class and knowledge and how these interact in today's modern world. The novel will be of very special interest to those with some knowledge of Iceland and its history. For those without such knowledge, the novel will compel you to learn more about this fascinating country and its wonderful author laureate, Halldor Laxness.

It's the one book I couldn't get through.
I read Halldor Laxness' Independent People and loved it so much that I ordered all the out of print books by him I could find-- and The Atom Station, conveniently in print and available through Amazon Books. I hated "Station." I put it down 1/3 of the way through and have felt no need to pick it up. This is the first time I can remember doing this in a lifetime of compulsive reading. Laxness experimented with a new style in this one-- demonstrating that experiments sometimes fail. I found his parody obnoxious, his politics overwhelming, the characters unengaging, and the tone of the book irritating. I gave it a "3" because its not pulp-- it's intelligent. Original. Unusual. Maybe someone will like it. He's really a great writer!!!

Patchy and Ultimately Disappointing
I had been looking forward to reading this and was sadly underwhelmed. There were some interesting and beautifully written/translated chapters but unfortunately much of what lay inbetween was, frankly, tiresome. At times I began to connect with the protagonist and felt the book was going somewhere but most of the time, to be honest, I couldn't have cared less about her. Her Member of Parliament was the most interesting character in the book but faded out of the narrative; his wife and her hatred of Communists was unfortunately neither developed nor explored. His supposed masterpiece "Independent People" is sitting in the pile of books next to my bed; I can only hope it is better than this.