The Saga of Gunnlod (1987)
Winner — The Henrik Steffens Prize 1997
1987
196 pages
Fiction
Modern Classics
The Saga of Gunnlod (1987)
A young Icelandic woman is arrested in the National Gallery of Denmark for stealing a priceless gold urn. The police suspect she is either mad or a terrorist, but the woman herself claims she is just recovering her birthright – the gold urn containing the mead of poetic creativity which she, Gunnlod, guarded in ancient times, until it was stolen by the god Odin. The narrator is the woman’s mother, who gradually comes to understand and appreciate the significance of her story. • Nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize • The Henrik Steffens Prize 1997
Reviews
Mixing Norse mythology with surreal storytelling, this compelling narrative chronicles the relationship between a mother seeking justice and her seemingly insane daughter. A leading author in Icelandic literature, Jakobsdottir’s psychological novel draws readers into the world of suspenseful realism.
WORLD LITERATURE TODAY
The style of this book is unusually rich and composed of dissimilar elements, harsh realistic descriptions and poetic inspiration from the world of the Edda and myth... Svava Jakobsdottir’s most significant, most mature and greatest work to date, and one of the best and most noteworthy novels to appear in Iceland in recent years.
SV. SK. HOSKULDSSON, PROFESSOR OF ICELANDIC LITERATURE
Awards
Won
- The Henrik Steffens Prize 1997
Nominated
- Nordic Council Literature Prize
Rights Sold
Translation rights sold
DenmarkRhodos
FinlandOtava
FranceCorti
Germany/Austria/SwitzerlandAmman/Saga Verlag
ItalyGiardini
LithuaniaTyto Alba
NorwayCappelen
SwedenNorstedts
UK/USANorvik Press