Rating: 6.3/10.
Novel originally written in Icelandic by author Sjon and translated into English, takes place in medieval Iceland (in the 1600s). Back then, Iceland was poor and in a remote corner of the world, people starved during the winter. The main character, Jonas, is a talented naturalist that explores the world through science. However, religion and superstition is strong at that time, so he is accused of sorcery and banished to Denmark.
The story is written in a very lyrical style, and often you’re unsure of what is really happening. There’s a lot of random supernatural stuff happening that’s not explained, and overall the book is very difficult to read, so I dropped it after about 140 pages (2/3 of the way in). Iceland does sound like a fascinating place though, with lots of history and tradition.
