The Natural Laws (2023)
2023
595 pages
Fiction
Fiction Highlights
A mesmerizing journey through mystical intrigue and transformative times.
In the early summer of 1925, the youngest, most beautiful and most reluctant bishop in the history of Iceland summons the country’s priests to the small town of Isafjordur. His purpose is to solidify the power of Christianity and suppress the spread of spiritualism. However, his schemes set off an unforeseen chain of events that span seven tumultuous days. Life in the town takes a sharp detour as inexplicable and catastrophic phenomena unfold, leaving the townspeople grappling with the question of whether the nature of these occurrences is scientific or divine.
The Natural Laws is a captivating novel with a glittering tinge of fantasy that offers a distinctive and carnivalesque portrayal of life in a small Icelandic town. Fact and fiction are juggled freely, capturing the town’s atmosphere and local memories, to weave an exhilarating and thrilling narrative.
Nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize 2023 Nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2025
★★★★★ FOUR AND A HALF STARS OUR OF FIVE POSSIBLE “The Natural Laws by Eirikur Orn Norddahl is definitely the most entertaining Icelandic novel to be published this year. I can assert that even though I haven’t read them all.” KRISTJAN JOHANN JONSSON, MORGUNBLADID DAILY
English sample translation and a plot outline. Dutch sample translation
Reviews
“Full of humour and written with great eloquence. The story is characterised by exuberant storytelling, stylistic artistry and an original plot. Despite the vigour and lightness the story tackles big philosophical questions which results in a substantial and remarkable novel.”
COMMENTS FROM THE ICELANDIC LITERARY PRIZE’ JURY 2023
"[Eirikur Orn Norddahl] approaches [his hometown] Isafjordur in a way that makes me think of Gabriel García Márquez’s fictional Macondo, Thomas Mann’s stylized Davos, and Selma Lagerlöf’s magical Värmland ... What makes this a wonderful novel, rather than merely a skilled one, is the way [Norddahl] lets his imagination run wild ... By telling the story of a distant time and a remote place, Eirikur Orn Norddahl, with The Natural Laws, manages to say more about our present than authors whose books are set here and now. That is how literature works when it is at its best. Then there is a multiplicity of meanings that need not be stated outright. Yes, perhaps that is precisely what makes fiction into fiction."
MB, GÖTEBORGS-POSTEN SWEDEN
"Like a contemporary Selma Lagerlöf, [Eirikur Orn Norddahl] lets folklore and Bible passages, foolishness and merciful love melt together in a slightly carnival-esque historical novel ... It is, in short, a wondrous novel."
LEL, EXPRESSEN SWEDEN
“... I found myself missing the novel when I wasn't reading it ... Wow and bravo!”
SUNNA D MASDOTTIR, KILJAN / NATIONAL TV
"A rare tale that leaves no one untouched. When God steps down from heaven, farce is mixed with both catastrophe and community. Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl’s novel is characterized by a joviality and love for humanity, where priests drink and drunks preach, and where the relationships between people are greater than the miracles they witness. A profound book where chaos is God's neighbor."
MICHAEL DAHNBERG / KULTMAGASIN, SWEDEN
“We’ll just say it: Bravo!”
EGILL HEGASON, KILJAN / KILJAN NATIONAL TV
“[The Natural Laws] is an uncontrollably fun book.”
THORGEIR TRYGGVASON, KILJAN / NATIONAL TV
★★★★ FOUR STARS OUT OF FIVE POSSIBLE “An immensely ambitious philosophical novel and social depiction dealing with the biggest questions of the kingdom of God and man.”
THORSTEINN VILHJALMSSON, HEIMILDIN WEEKLY
“Eirikur Orn Norddahl excels in The Natural Laws. The book literally sparkles with joy of narration and wonderful humor. Yet, it confronts various serious existential questions and challenges fate in a uniquely Icelandic way. This story is simply wonderful from beginning to end. ... Eirikur is an excellent stylist ... some chapters in this long book are read over and over again because they are so entertaining and thought-provoking.”
EVA H GUDMUNDSDOTTIR, LIFDU NUNA MAGAZINE
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