Product Description
The Fish Can Sing is one of Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness’s most beloved novels, a poignant coming-of-age tale marked with his peculiar blend of light irony and dark humor.

The orphan Alfgrimur has spent an idyllic childhood sheltered in the simple turf cottage of a generous and eccentric elderly couple. Alfgrimur dreams only of becoming a fisherman like his adoptive grandfather, until he meets Iceland's biggest celebrity. The opera singer Gardar Holm’s international fame is a source of tremendous pride to tiny, insecure Iceland, though no one there has ever heard him sing. A mysterious man who mostly avoids his homeland and repeatedly fails to perform for his adoring countrymen, Gardar takes a particular interest in Alfgrimur’s budding musical talent and urges him to seek out the world beyond the one he knows and loves. But as Alfgrimur discovers that Gardar is not what he seems, he begins to confront the challenge of finding his own path without turning his back on where he came from. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

"David Copperfield" of Iceland, only more charming
This is a book I picked up out of idle curiosity about the most famous modern writer of the land of the Vikings, and then couldn't put down, staying up late and neglecting work to finish it. It's terribly quotable and wise. It is about the life, from birth to age 18, of the fatherless, motherless Alfgrimur of Brekkukot, who has the good luck to be raised by two of the kindest, wisest people in the world, his "grandmother" and "grandfather." (Later in life he finds out they are not even married or related.) They operate a sort of free hostel for the down and out of a still agricultural, poverty-stricken, but literate, tradition-revering, and immensely decent culture. The book is full of love for the quirky, humorous, unpretentious Icelanders of the Danish colonial period, and so moving my eyes were full of tears as I finished it.

The boy Alfgrimur's childhood is overshadowed by the fame of his glorious relative, Gardar Holm, and as he gradually gets to know Gardar Holm, the story takes on gravity and becomes more than a simple memoir of a happy childhood among innocent people.

I don't want to say too much, because there are people who will be bored by this book. They are the people who like what I call "airport novels."

I loved it, every sentence and minute of it, as if I were spending time with the most admirable people in the world. I am now planning to seek out all the books by Halldor Laxness that have been translated into English. I see why he won the Nobel prize.

The masterly translation by Magnus Magnusson is everything a translation should be-- you forget you are not reading a work written in English.

The Fish Can Ramble
Did 14 out of 15 people really give this book 5 stars? This book is about both Alfgrimur's and Iceland's coming of age overly and unnecessarily decorated with never-ending and pointless descriptions, over the top and unlikely characters and situations, and random phrases in foreign languages. Besides, the book has many references deeply rooted in Icelandic culture, so a few footnotes would have been very useful. I have not read "Independent People" yet, but "Under the Glacier", which is a more engaging and interesting book, has a more complex plot where this kind of writing makes more sense and actually works.

Singers Known but to Cod
There are umpteen million biographies out there.Most of them are probably eminently forgettable.A few, however, catch the essence of a childhood lived in a particular place and time.Let me say right off that this is certainly one of them.I remember "Aké, Years of Childhood" by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria), "Chronicle in Stone" by Ismail Kadare (Albania), "Palace Walk" by Najib Mahfouz (Egypt), "Childhood, Boyhood, Youth" by Lev Tolstoy (Russia) and "Watcher on a Cast-Iron Balcony" by Hal Porter (Australia). Iceland at the turn of the 20th century was certainly not the smooth (albeit presently broke) Scandinavian-design country that it is today.It still remained a land of dirt-poor farmers, fishermen, and laborers who often remained forever caught in the coils of a company-store system that would rival anything in the coal mining country of West Virginia or Kentucky.
Alfgrimur grows up with his grandparents on the outskirts of Reykjavik in an old house with many guests, some staying on for months or years.He hears music in the form of songs from the nearby cemetery where he eventually lends his voice at funerals.He begins even to study music.There's a family mystery which haunts the whole book and is only gradually revealed.The mystery concerns a world-renowned Icelandic singer who makes occasional trips back to the adulation of his homeland.As Alfgrimur grows older, begins studying, and learning about life, he also gets closer to the bottom of the mystery.The book is full of odd events, stories that seem tangential but add to the whole, and a dry humor.We learn that it is bad form to kill flies in other people's houses.Love and death, the land and society, work and class struggle, everything finds a place here, and it seemed to me that the title bears the sub-meaning that all Icelanders (or maybe human beings) could sing if only they knew it.Whether or not this is straight-out autobiography or a fictionalized biography does not really matter.The culture of the long-gone Icelandic past is so vividly presented---dried cod's heads and direct speech descended from the Saga age, funeral orations and drunken French fishermen lying in gutters, gulls in the moonlight---that finishing the book is like emerging back into a paler reality.
I have not read such a beautiful, enjoyable book for some time.

The Fish Can Sing by Halldor Laxness
The Fish Can Sing is an odd little novel about a talented yet humble young man in Iceland. Laxness paints a broad canvas here before settling into the novel's plot; we learn countless small details of everyday life in a small Icelandic village, nearby the capital that is itself a tiny blip on the world map. Everything is warm and inviting, albeit slightly peculiar, and as it continues we become more familiar with the narrator, Alfgrimur. As a protagonist he is nothing special, but the book's strength lies more in its themes and patterns than in characterization. As he matures he forms a surprising bond with his country's biggest star, the famous singer Gathar Holm. Holm travels the world and lives a life of ostensible luxury, yet the closer Alfgrimur grows to him the more he sees fame as fleeting and inauthentic.

This is the book that Laxness was working on when he won the Nobel Prize, to date the only person from his country to have done so, and has a strange beauty to it that is borne from his obvious love for Iceland. Every character here is good-hearted; gone is the brooding protagonist of Independent People, or the Dickensian, conspiratorial villains in World Light. Even the book's gloomiest figure, Holm, is aloof yet always supportive to little Alfgrimur. As Iceland was in the world spotlight, from there emerged this modest, charming and thoroughly Scandinavian book professing its author's intense loyalty to it. This isn't Laxness' best work, but is filled with a certain something that makes it stand out in his ouvre.

Another Laxness Triumph
The Fish can Sing (originally published in Icelandic in 1957 as Brekkukotsannáll) is, for most readers, probably the most accessible Halldór Laxness novel. This coming-of-age story centers on the orphan Álfgrímur and his relationship to his very small world- indeed, almost all of the action takes place within a radius of about 2000 meters! This small area is, however, rich in characterization and momentous events. Each of the episodic 41 chapters exposes Álfgrímur to some new lesson about life; lessons which he takes to heart as he comes to grips with the modern world and his role in it. Gardar Holm, a "world famous" singer who may be Álfgrímur's father, appears from time to time- in a sense he represents Laxness himself- a world traveler who is not exactly what he seems. Álfgrímur may be thought of as personifying Iceland at the turn of the twentieth century- waking up from a solitary existence, ready to go out and make a mark in the world. Gardar's talks with Álfgrímur exist with several levels of meaning- personal, artistic, political, moral and emotional.

The tone of the book is generally lighthearted and is quite funny at times. The characters who drift in and out of Álfgrímur's life ground it. Their faults and foibles reveal basic human dignities. All in all a wonderful book, the translation (by the esteemed Magnus Magnussson) seems to capture Laxness' deceptively simple style; certainly well enough to completely charm this reader- for the third time!
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Product Description
THE SAGAS OF ICELANDERS are amongst the crowning achievements of medieval literature. In their narrative artistry and characterisation, the Sagas rank with the world's greatest literary treasures - as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. They form a unique literary genre and have inspired writers as diverse as Walter Scott, Jorge Luis Borges and W H Auden. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (41)

The Sagas of The Icelanders
Very big book. It goes into great depth of Viking culture before getting to the stories so that they are better understood. I highly recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in Vikings in any capacity.

Inaccurate translation
I bought this as I needed to write an analysis of the "Soga om Gunnlaug Ormstunge" for my norwegian exam and, as it is written in 'old norse' I didn't understandword.I read the book and wrote the analysis only to find out that they had failed to translate the AGE of the main character correctly. Femten is not twelve, it's fifteen. This is an important part of the story! I automatically lost all faith in the rest of the translation after that.I might be the only mistake, but when you are relying on a translation...................

Huge Tome
This book is huge. it's chock full of sagas that present a much different ideal for its heroes than we have in the US. As a myth, these stories create a unique fabric that tells of impossible feats and bizarre characters. This may not be for anyone who isn't interested in this kind of stuff, but it really is some fun stuff. Where else are you going to find projectile vomiting at the same time as a stabbing at the same time as someone recites a poem about the stabbing? Yeah, not anywhere I can think of.

Ancient Nordic Grail.
Being a avid and border line compulsive reader of Viking Saga,s,This book is the grail of the true stories past down thrue generations. And for the price you get alot of book! I highly recomend this if you to are either studying this time period for school or are simply into viking sagas,Get this book.

She's done it again!!
Okay, let me admit before I get started that I am a HUGE Bjork fan from way back--I even listen to the Sugarcubes, and they suck!! Bjork's trademark creativity and wit have never been more brilliantly displayed than they are in this fine tome. Each story instantly captured my mind and heart, drawing me deep inside Bjork's crazily imaginative world--her words are funny, like her swan dress; sexy, like her single "Hidden Place"; violent, like her unprovoked attack on a reporter near the baggage claim of a Thai airport; beautiful, like her soul.

Take the story (or "saga" as she insists on calling them) of Egil. This dude is crazy hilarious! One minute he's starting bloody battles with everyone he knows and the next he's hiding a cache of silver like some sort of merry leprechaun. Bjork doesn't really describe his appearance in much detail, but I imagined him wearing a long dress with a sequin portrait of Michael Jackson on the skirt, with his hair done up in a bunch of tiny buns--LOL! Egil is soooo Bjork!

A lot of these stories are pretty long, but any chance I get to hang out in Bjork's crazy head I will TAKE, believe you me. So I treasured every hour I spent reading this book. Also, kudos to the seller for such a quick delivery--this was a last minute purchase and I was really hoping to receive it in time for my annual pilgrimage to Bjork's birthplace. It arrived in perfect condition, on time, and a few months later I even got her to sign it for me!!

What a lady. What a writer! I remain, as always, Bjonkers for Bjork! ... Read more

Product Description
Joe Allston is a retired literary agent who is, in his own words, "just killing time until time gets around to killing me." His parents and his only son are long dead, leaving him with neither ancestors nor descendants, tradition nor ties. His job, trafficking the talent of others, had not been his choice. He passes through life as a spectator.

A postcard from a friend causes Allston to return to the journals of a trip he had taken years before, a journey to his mother's birth­place where he'd sought a link with the past. The memories of that trip, both grotesque and poignant, move through layers of time and meaning, and reveal that Joe Allston isn't quite spectator enough. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Will make you feel old
I liked Stegner's "Angle of Repose", but this book just seemed to be too depressing.The main character keeps reminding the reader of his body falling apart and the ravages old age inflicts upon us, sooner or later, if we live long enough.

The story that takes place in the main character's past, as he recalls it, is interesting and filled with splendid descriptions and illustrations, for which Stegner is indeed a master.But the downer, for me anyway, is the continual return to "present day life" of the main character, his negativity, and grim outlook on life.

Not enough optimism in this book for me, nor enough deep sorrow to provide a moving experience.I didn't feel like it delivered.Sorry.:(

A Little Slow and Somewhat Improbable
I purchased three of Wallace Stegner's books in one book.They are Angle of Repose, The Spectator Bird, and Crossing to Safety.I started and completed The Spectator Bird.Wallace Stegner is clearly a very thoughtful author with much talent.But The Spectator Bird does not have have enough action or move along fast enough for me.I also found it improbable that the main characters would go to Denmark and spend time with a royal family that is riddled with incest.On the positive side, The Spectator Bird gave me a warm feeling because the marriage of the two main characters works.Their marriage is about friendship and fidelity.To summarize, other readers might find this book extremely satisfying even though it is not my cup of tea.

A Couple Looks Back Over The Years of Their Marriage
I am a fan of Wallace Stegner.Everything he's written is at least very good and most are excellent.This book follows All the Little Live Things (Contemporary American Fiction) and the characters of Joe and Ruth Allston are in both books.

This novel is quite good.Joe Allston and his wife Ruth look back at their time together by reading his journals of their visit to Denmark. Ruth has always suspected that Joe had an affair with the mysterious and tormented countess, Astrid.

The book deals with guild, choices and pain.It is very WASPish and masculine in its attitudes.This is found in many of Stegner's books.My favorite books by him are Crossing to Safety (Modern Library Classics) and All the Little Live Things (Contemporary American Fiction).

A life lived, a life rememberd, a life imagined, intersect
A meditation on a life lived and a life remembered.The time is the early 1970's. Joe Alston, a retired literary agent, nearly seventy, receives a post card from a Danish woman, Astrid, who he and his wife met 20 years earlier on a trip to Denmark.

Upon receiving the post card from Astrid, Joe retrieves the journal he kept during the trip and ends up reading it to his wife, Ruth.The novel is the story of Joe telling the story of his and Ruth's trip to Denmark.A story within a story.The inner story brings up an old, unhealed wound between Joe and Ruth.

On the trip to Denmark Joe was looking for his past and the birth place of his mother.Instead of finding his "safe place", he found a dark story, and a countess who's charms nearly overwhelmed him.He also found a complicated and twisted story of science, genetics and incest, which his mother escaped when she emigrated to the United States.He lost the illusion of a romanticized past.

The outer story is about coming to terms with growing old, and what it means to be an old person in a youth oriented world."But if you're old, you're up against discrimination that doesn't even know it's discrimination".Joe scoffs at research which attempts to understand and explain being old. He describes a research questionnaire he receives as "Another of those socio-psycho-physiological studies suitable for computerizing conclusions already known to anyone over fifty."

An aging Susan Blixen, better known by her pen name as Isak Dinksen, author of Out of Africa, appears as a character in the story of the trip to Denmark.In describing Blixen, there is a paraphrase of Tennyson, "She resents rusting unburnished when she wants to shine in use."There is also a reference to Plato's allegory of the cave, experiencing life as the shadows cast on the wall by other lives, and the troubling thought that we are not the shadow casters, but only the wall which catches the shadow.

There are wry, satirical comments, such as those on self-indulgent turns in literature and the writing of memoirs. "Writing your life implies that you think it worth writing.It implies an arrogance, or confidence, or compulsion to justify oneself, that I can't claim.Did Washington write his memoirs?Did Lincoln, Jefferson, Shakespeare, Socrates?No, but Nixon will, and Agnew is undoubtedly hunched over his right now."

There is also playful humor, one continuing example revolves around Joe's cat, Catarrh, "who loves to creep up under your chin to sleep, and is never happier when he is lying on your book", and is "a heat seeking missile if there ever was one."

In short this is a rich, entertaining novel, that packs a lot into it's 214 pages. For example, there is the thread involving Joe's dying friend Tom Patterson. Linked to this thread is Joe's former doctor Ben, a chronic gregarious gadfly and now a personal friend. A type of doctor who has faded into history.In the end there are loose threads.But that is good.It leaves an empty space be filled by the reader's imagination and speculation.

To Have and to Hold
Joe, a retired literary agent, and his wife Ruth in their senior years considering how to integrate life experiences while preserving the precious.Read it to find out!
This book is perfection in writing.The plot is spooled out artfully, and not so sparingly that one just gets frustrated- as many new trendy novels do these days.The Spectator Bird is to be appreciated on many levels- how to write a novel, how to develop a plot, how to create characters one cares about, spot on use of language and expression, how to gift one's reader with having learned something about him/herself, how to live one's life-how to have and to hold the people one loves.
If you are reaching the stage of your sixties, you'll feel not a few uncomfortable twinges of how you feel at that 'age of anxiety'.I did througout. But I promise you, you won't be left feeling bereft or hopeless; and you might just be pricked to change your attitude for the better by this book.
Wallace Stegner was a true American treasure of a writer.I found him after his Pulitzer for The Angle of Repose.I've read three more- Crossing to Safety being another of his greatest, I think.Mr. Stegner will keep book clubs and readers everywhere enthralled for years to come.
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SHIPS FROM CALIFORNIA!!HASSLE FREE RETURNS!!ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT SELLER !! ... Read more

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Term paper due tomorrow? Need to cram for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Short Stories for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by Thomson Gale--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: author biography; plot summary; character analysis; an overview of the story's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Short Stories for Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: Thomson Gale--and "Short Stories for Students." ... Read more

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Unabridged audiobook on 14 Compact Discs. Running time 16 hours, 15 minutes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Occasionally funny, but. . .
I am a professor, and I was hungry for a good satire of academe.This is funny in places, but parts of it get boring, and there isn't enough plot to connect the scenes.The reader is excellent!For people who want an entertaining satirical novel about academe, I recommend "Straight Man" by Richard Russo. ... Read more