I love this book, in all its whimsicality and strangeness. Sjón is a fascinating writer, very fresh even when he's weaving with ancient myth. Reading a novel like this is a wonderful reminder of just how open and weird literature can be. It is also a reminder of how much better off we are when we keep expanding the ranks of those who write. This is a voice that would likely have remained hidden (to me, an English-speaker in the dominant imperialist nation) in most times before now. See, world-spanning imperialism has an upside. (Um, er... Maybe I should keep working on this review...)

What and why the fuck

An argonaut on a post ww2 ship telling Greek and Nordic epics. Seen through the viewpoint of mr Collins if instead of a lady Catherine fixation, he obsessed over fish and Nordic supremacy. Somehow very good?

Well this is hard to describe , such an unusual book. It’s lightly humorous yet carries some quite dark undertones. The narrator is an Icelandic pompous , selfinterested old fool who doesn’t seem to realise how ridiculous he is. This is how the book opens:
“
I, Valdimar Haraldsson, was in my twenty-seventh year when I embarked on the publication of a small journal devoted to my chief preoccupation, the link between fish consumption and the superiority of the Nordic race.”

In 1949, He gets invited on a cruise on a Norwegian boat where the first mate tells tales of his travels every night after dinner. His name is Caeneus and turns out he is a mythical figure who travelled on the Argo with Jason and his argonauts. The stories are in marked contrast to the speech Haraldsson gives and his normal day to day thoughts and conversations.

I enjoyed this combination of retelling of Greek myth and Norse counterparts with an interesting cast of characters. I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it for ages and leaves me thinking I need to read up on some greek classics (Ovid, Euripides are included in the sources)!

A strange book. Narrated by an old man obsessed with the value of the Nordic diet who interacts with a god who just happens to be a mate on a ship. I waited for a payoff and received only a few morsels. But something about the voice of the narrator worked for me.

3.5 stars

My review of The Whispering Muse can be found here: https://theliterarysisters.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/one-from-the-archive-the-whispering-muse-by-sjon/

A combination of post modern storytelling with Greek and Nordic mythology tied up in a Melleville-esque framework. This isn't a typical re-telling of classic mythology, but it clearly uses the elements while embedding them into a story with some interesting characters. The main character is an intellectual who studies the impact of fish consumption on the Nordic race. This droll main character is contrasted by the earthier characters of the ship's crew. The mixture of players works well in creating tension and adding interest to the story.

The book reminded me a lot of Michael Ayrton's work (The Maze Maker). If you're a fan of Ayrton's work, you will love this.

3.5, rounded up.

Although this is my least favorite of the three Sjón novels I have read so far, there is something so joyously playful about them, that even when they don't seem to come together in any fruitful fashion, as here, they are still a pleasure to read. And as per usual, Victoria Cribb's translation is so effortlessly fluid that if it weren't for the subject matter, one wouldn't guess it wasn't originally rendered in English.

I am sad I lost my hardcover version of this book before I could finish it. I'll try to find another copy in the library so that I can keep reading this book.