Customer Reviews

Independent People

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Independent People is the Nobel Prize (for Literature 1955) winning book written by the "undisputed master of contemporary Icelandic fiction". It is a wonderfully written book, although by no means a happy book. The plot is at times dark, but casts an intriguing look at human nature, relationships and a way of life. Laxness covers a multitude of issues and themes that are relevant even today and it is amazing to think that this book was written in the late 1940s. The story is the life of Bjartur an independent person, his family and his farm, Summerhouses. He is a farmer, raising sheep, facing similar difficulties and harsh realities as farmers face today, but his connection with the animals sets him apart from contemporary farmers. Bjartur's complex relationships with his family and the landed members of society and his straightforward relationship with his animals allows for a twisting plot and surprising turn of events. Although the book was of particular interest to me, having traversed Iceland on horseback recently (the horse that Bjartur owned has the same name as one of the horses I rode), but it does not preclude people who have never been to Iceland to feeling the same way as I did. Laxness somehow manages to engulf the reader, making one want to read on and on. The reader is hooked by him creating an interest, as well as concern or care towards Bjartur and his family. Most of the story is seen through the eyes of Bjartur, but by changing briefly to the point of view of the daughter and son, gives the story a smooth rounded feeling. This allows the reader to understand the complex feelings of the children, as well as conceptualize how they see and feel about their surroundings and life. The writing is fluid and the story and events unfold easily. I would categorize the writing style to be minimalist in areas, as Laxness leaves things unsaid or just uses one word to describe an incident. Allowing the reader to get involved by using their imagination. Because of this strong writing style, it is hard to believe that the book is a translation. It makes one wonder what the Icelandic version must be like. The only disappointment of the book is the introduction by Brad Leithauser. It is frustrating to see that he was unable to write an introduction to the book without divulging some of the key aspects of the plot. Not only is that unnecessary, but very unprofessional. I, therefore, recommend reading the introduction after finishing the book.

I first read "Independent People" in 1996 after reading Brad Leithauser's essay in the "New York Review of Books." Leithauser's praise of the book and the author were so intriguing that I went to the library that day and found an earlier edition. I recently had the opportunity to read the book again, with Leithauser's essay serving as an introduction. A single reading cannot exhaust this outsize, obscure novel by the 1955 Nobel-prize winner from Iceland.

On a simple level, "Independent People" deals with the lives of the poor sheep grazers in Iceland early in the 20th Century. The hero is a farmer named Bajartur of Summerhouses who, after 18 years of working for another, the baliff, earns enough money to buy his own small farm. Bajartur's goal is to be independent and self-sufficient, to take what he earns and not take or give to others. In addition to this simple economic credo for independence. Bjartur is an "independent person" emotionally in his relationships with his wives -- he is twice married in the book -- his three sons and his daughter -- actually his first wife's daughter but not Bjartur's -- whom Bjartur names Asta Sollija the "beloved sun -lily" whom he refers to as his soul's "one flower." Much of this long, multi-faceted book involves Bjartur's relationship with Asta Sollija -- their estrangement and ultimate reconciliation.

Bjartur and Asta Sollija and their relationship frames but hardly exhausts this book. There is a picture of Iceland -- or of modernizing society in general with its conflict between farmer and town. There are long discussions of poetry and literature, of war, of politics, and particularly of philosophy and religion, see below. For all its length and seriousness, much of the book is funny, almost satirical in tone in the way it pokes fun at Bjartur and his intellectual and emotional limitations. The reader still comes to admire Bjartur for his fortitude and stubborness.

The book is timeless in character and the chronology is blurred. World War I plays a pivotal role in the middle of the book but the times before and the times after seem to be endless and undefined. There is something that is prototypical and archetypical about this book -- it is hardly an exercise in the realistic novel.

From a subsequent essay about Laxness by Brad Leithauser, I learned that Laxness was the kind of person generally called a seeker. This made me admire him and this book all the more and informed greatly my second reading. Growing up in a small, isolated nation, Laxness read exhaustively and put something of himself into his readings. He changed his mind many times during his life, being at various stages entirely secular, a socialist with perhaps communist leanings, and an adherent of various forms of Christianity. He took a rare delight in important ideas and showed an openness and fluidity to them that I find reflected in the themes of "Independent People." Most obviously, their is Bjartur's character with its emphasis on economic self-sufficiency and laissez-faire. This attitude leads to Bjartur's heroism but also his poverty, and it is contrasted artfully with the cooperative movemement and, implicitly, with a socialist approach to society in the early 20th century.

The book is pervaded by a strong spiritual tone. Bjartur for most of the book represents a position of independence and utter skepticism, but at key moments he does things not fully consistent with his stated beliefs. The book is framed by old Icelandic pagan legends and by spirits who are said to continue to haunt Bjartur's farm. We see various Christian ministers who in general are satirized in the course of the novel. But I was most impressed with the following erudite, and well-taken reference to Zoroastrianism, the religion of good and evil,which is alluded to many times during the course of the book and frames its story. In a moment of irony, Laxness puts the following speech early on, at Bjartur's first wedding, into the mouth of the bailiff's wife.

"I don't know whether you are aquainted with the religious beliefs of the Persians. This race believed that the god of light and the god of darkness waged eternal warfare, and that man's part was to assist the god of light in his struggle by the tilling of the fields and the improvement of the land. This is precisely what farmers do. They help God, if one may say so; work with God in the cultivation of plants, the tending of livestock, and the care of their fellow men. There exists no calling of greater nobility here on earth. Therefore, I would direct these words to all husbandmen, but first and foremost to our bridegroom of today: You sons of the soil whose labour is unending and leisure scanty, know, I bid you, how exalted is your vocation. Agriculture is work in co-operation with the Creator Himself, and in you is He well pleased." (p. 25)

I am intrigued by the repeated references to the "religion of the Persians" and to its appropriateness for the story. This quote,and its irony, reminds me of the sermon in "Moby Dick", a book which shares in its obscurity and in its questing character many of the qualities of this one. The speech shows the author's ability to adopt material from little-known traditions into his own ideas and work, and to make them live for the reader. It was one of the qualities that leapt out at me in my second reading of "Independent People."

This book remains a little-known masterpiece. It will reward those readers willing to take the time with it.

A truly great book, wonderfully written, with many dramatic moments. Unfortunately the introduction is written by a bore who gives away most of the best moments. If you want to truly enjoy this book as written by the author save the introduction for last (if at all).

This is a very moving book. The story is about Bjartur of Summerhouses and his (miserable) life as an independent farmer. The interest of the book comes partly from the vividness of its characters, esp. Bjartur and his daughter Asta Sollilja (actually his wife's daughter with the bailiff); the excellence of its comic sketches of Bailiff Jon who says very little and spits, his poetically inclined wife, Pastor Gudmundur the sheep-farmer, Bjartur's fellow independent farmers, etc.; the beauty of its descriptions of everyday life; and so on. Those are the things that make the book bearable. It is, however, chiefly a tragedy, and Bjartur is a tragic hero: stubborn, old-fashioned, fiercely defensive of his independence, but tender in an unsentimental way towards his sheep and Asta Sollilja.

Bjartur comes to a bad end because, in the "hubris" caused by the rise of wool prices during the First World War, he tries to build a regular house to replace his traditional (tiny) hut.

Bjartur is an old-world pioneer, and the bleakness of the book comes from its portrayal of the old world as a place with no space for pioneers -- a place where there is no new land, only abandoned land, and possibilities are rigidly circumscribed.

I was skeptical when a friend urged this one on me--a novel about an Icelandic sheep herder? I'd never heard of Laxness--and the Nobel Prize has sometimes been more of a political gesture than a recognition of true merit. But it took me no more than one paragraph to be totally absorbed. This book is, by turns, powerful, frightening, funny, and lyrical. Part of the credit is due to a masterful translation (I think, having no Icelandic whatever), or, at least a translation that never reads like a translation, if you know what I mean. But mostly it is the genius of the author, his ability to convey a physical image, an emotional context, the nuances and quirks of a character. This is the first time I've taken the trouble to write a review in here--but if there's a chance that someone might be inspired to get this book, then it's worth the effort. I compare Laxness to Hardy because of this writer's ability to evoke the ambiance of a place and to show his characters as organically linked to their roots. I see there are a few more of Laxness's books available in English and I plan to read all I can find. Get this one, by all means.

Laxness weaves a tale over a generation with the trials and tribulations of being a sheep herder on a haunted clearing in the near Arctic. Although I didn't relate exactly with the period and geography, the theme of independence and the politics of trade associated with the story were facinating. Bartjur, the shepherd, loves his independence more than his family and life itself.

In the end, his lessons are learned by his children who each take to heart the father's ways, but all in their own ways. Can we ever truly be completely independent? Or are we inextricably linked to family, community and society?

A very well written tome, with much vivid imagery, every bit as classic as Margaret Mitchell's GWTW.

There are multitudes of underlying themes in INDEPENDENT PEOPLE that it almost demands a second reading to fully appreciate this novel. Halldor Laxness created an enriching tale of Bjartur, a hardheaded sheep farmer who is fiercely loyal to the concept of remaining self-sufficient. After spending 18 years as a laborer he finally saved an adequate amount of money to purchase his own plot of land. Unfortunately, Bjartur's new land happens to be haunted with evil spirits that he is determined to ignore and discredit. He cares more for his sheep than for his family and remains stubborn as Iceland embarks on a socialist platform. Will Bjartur be able to modify his allegiances before he is left behind in the new Icelandic markets? More importantly, will he learn to accept the choices and faults of his children?

Laxness paints a picture of the bleakness of rural life in Iceland in the early 20th century. The reader receives a feeling of the climate and land as well as rural Icelandic society. Laxness' portrayal of the dales and moors very often results in a sad picture of humanity. On top of all that, the hard life of the sheep farmer makes for a very sad story. The absurdity of life really shines through. For these reasons many people will assess INDEPENDENT PEOPLE as being too grime and depressing as it is definitely not a "feel good" book, but at the same time there is a hidden quality that brings beauty to Bjartur's life on the dales. If you're able to uncover that beauty as I have then you many just enjoy INDEPENDENT PEOPLE as much as I have. And don't forget the subtle humor involved. I simply could not help laughing at Bjartur's stubbornness. Bravo!

This novel looks nostalgically at rural life in Iceland and regrets the effects of a market economy on rural people with simple wants and needs. The protagonist, Bjartur of Summerhouses, is an obstinate, reactionary, and sometimes cruel herdsman who nonetheless possesses fine perception. Through this book, we learn a lot about the ecology of Iceland (it's a nice place to visit but don't try to raise sheep there), Bjartur, his family, and the society he belongs to. Author Halldor Laxness makes you appreciate the difficulties these people face but can also make you laugh out loud when he satirizes Bjartur's neighbors and the local gentry. I was impressed with this book and read many passages to my family. Unfortunately, there are also parts of the book where not much of interest happens for what seems like 50 or 75 pages at a time. I'm tempted to say that this would have been a better book if it were shorter but then Laxness won the Nobel Prize for literature and I didn't.

In 1955 Laxness got the Nobel prize for literature mainly for this book that describes the unequal fight of an Icelandic small farmer against the elements....

After 18 years as the servant of a big farmer, Bjart is able to buy his own piece of land for a good price because everybody is convinced that that particular spot is bewitched. He build his own hut, marries a servant from the household of his former boss and becomes and Independent Person.

What follows is a chain of unfortunate events and misery: his first wife dies when giving birth, his second wife dies when he slaughters her favorite cow, most of his children die, the whole family os constantly hungry, the sheep have diarrhea or worms or both and in the meantime it does not stop raining.

Despite everything Bjart struggles on. And then WW 1 starts and everybody wants to buy Icelandic wool and mutton. Finally the farmers get a decent price for their sheep. And then Bjart finally pushes his luck and the books ends like it begins: with a moving to a new house.

An interesting theme and the book is at times very nice to read, but at other times it is enormously long-winded and the discussions between the small farmers are at times completely incomprehensible.

There's not much I can say about "Independent People" that hasn't already been written here. It's an extraordinary read, full of complex characters, striking detail, and a wintry, desolate setting that is at once oppressive and alluring.

It's not a perfect book. When the subtitle claims the novel is "an epic," it's not kidding. According to Miriam-Webster, an epic is something "extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope." In every sense of the word, this book is an epic. At times, the book travels into unnecessary spaces, gives us plot lines and characters that really don't go places. It's long. Very long. The prose is epic, too.

But you know? The book is awesome because of its flaws. Its epical nature fits the story, the time, and the place. Perfect. Sublime. A definite reader's read.