Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #634561 in Books
• Published on: 1994-10-01
• Original language: Icelandic
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 148 pages

Customer Reviews

A refreshing approach to the novel and storytelling.
Set in a district in the suburbs of Rekjavik, "Epilogue of the raindrops" is the story of a storm and its consequences in that district. This may sound a little dull, but in the tradition of Icelandic literature something so seemingly straightforward as some bad weather is anything but. The rich tapestry of events which occur during and as a result of the storm, are bound together with extraordinary skill, giving one a sense of the community as a whole entity. That is not to say that one doesn't become involved in the lives and stories of the characters. It is impossible to go into much detail about the story, as it is like a collection of stories; some told by the author, some by the characters, if such a distict definition can be made.

Gudmundsson's use of the text and language, skillfully translated by Bernard Scudder, is wholly removed from any other western style of literature. Owing much more to the unique and rich tradition of poetry and Sagas in Iceland, the book reads like a prose poem, only it isn't a prose poem. It is simply a novel written from a refreshing perspective.

I would recommend this novel to anyone tired of the western tradition of novel writing, or anyone who just likes a good story.

Disappointing
Most people will I think come to this book via the author's classic "Angels of the Universe"... however, I think this book is much more inferior.

"Epilogue of the Raindrops", is really what is promised in its title - pretentiousness, sub-joycean self-indulgence (it reminded me a little of "Finnegans Wake", although this book is actually intelligible) etc.

The characters don't stick in the mind, apart from the churchman writing pop tunes (where have I seen that before? The Finnish film "The Man without a Past" has a similar line involving the Salvation Army!). You will also find no true dialogue in this book, which some people may find heavy going. It's more in the style of a giant prose poem, and divided up into movements, sections, parts etc to no avail.

Read if you're a completist wanting to get your hands on all the Icelandic literature you can, but otherwise, don't bother.

Recommended instead - Angels of the Universe (10/10), and Brushstrokes of Blue (Modern Icelandic poets, including some of Einar Mar Gudmundsson's work).