Independent People (1934-35)

A timeless elemental masterpiece, which was one of the works for which Halldor Laxness was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. It evokes the mood and rhythm of life in an isolated community in a remote corner of Europe as no other writer has done since the time of the great Icelandic sagas. Richly lyrical, often humorous, conceived on a grand scale, and with a cast of memorable characters, Independent People is one of the truly great poetic novels of the 20th century. It is the story of a crofter on Iceland’s remotest moor, but it is also a study of deception, love and grief among all people.