Read Around Europe Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Europe.
Best books from Europe (2675)
1011.
IcelandDescription:
Gunnar Kampen grows up in Iceland during the Second World War in a household fiercely opposed to Hitler and Nazism. At nineteen he seems set for a conventional, dutiful life. And yet in the spring of 1958, he founds a covert, anti-Semitic nationalist party, a cause that will take him on a clandestine mission to England from which he never returns.
Inspired by one of the ringleaders of a little-known neo-Nazi group that was formed in Iceland in the 1950s, Sjon's portrait of an ardent fascist is as thought-provoking as it is disturbing. As this taut and fascinating novel suggests, the se... continue
1012.
The Passion Hymns of Iceland, Being Translations from the Passion-Hymns of Hallgrim Petursson by Hallgrim Peturssonm translated by Charles Pilcher EN
Description:
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute th... continue
1013.
Animal Life by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir EN
Description:
From winner of the Nordic Council Literature Prize and the Icelandic Literature Prize, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, comes a dazzling novel about a family of midwives set in the run-up to Christmas in Iceland In the days leading up to Christmas, Dómhildur delivers her 1,922nd baby. Beginnings and endings are her family trade; she comes from a long line of midwives on her mother's side and a long line of undertakers on her father's. She even lives in the apartment that she inherited from her grandaunt, a midwife with a unique reputation for her unconventional methods. As a terrible storm races towards... continue
1014.
The Prose Edda : Tales from Norse Mythology by Snorri Sturluson EN
Description:
Written in Iceland a century after the close of the Viking Age, The Prose Edda is the source of most of what we know of Norse mythology. Its tales are peopled by giants, dwarves, and elves, superhuman heroes and indomitable warrior queens. Its gods live with the tragic knowledge of their own impending destruction in the cataclysmic battle of Ragnarok. Its time scale spans the eons from the world’s creation to its violent end. This robust new translation captures the magisterial sweep and startling psychological complexity of the Old Icelandic original. For more than seventy years, Penguin has ... continue
1015.
Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indriðason EN
Description:
On a January day the Reykjavik police are called to a block of flats where a body has been found: a young boy frozen to the ground in a pool of his own blood. The discovery of a stab wound on his stomach extinguishes any hope that this was an accident. Erlendur & his team embark on their investigation with little to go on.
1017.
Gallows Rock by Yrsa Sigurdardottir EN
Description:
On a jagged, bleak lava field just outside Reykjavik stands the Gallows Rock. Once a place of execution, it is now a tourist attraction. Until this morning, when a man was found hanging from it... The nail embedded in his chest proves it wasn't suicide. But when the police go to his flat, a further puzzle awaits: a four-year-old boy has been left there. He doesn't seem to have any link with the victim, his parents cannot be found, and his drawings show he witnessed something terrible. As detective Huldar hunts the killer, and child psychologist Freyja looks for the boy's parents, the mystery u... continue
1018.
Icelandic folk tales by Hjörleifur Helgi Stefánsson EN
Description:
Iceland is a country where stories are as important as history. When Vikings settled the island, they brought their tales with them. Every rock, hot spring and waterfall seems to have its own story. Cruel man-eating trolls rub shoulders with beautiful elves, whose homes are hidden from mortal view. Vengeful ghosts envy the living, seeking to drag lost loves into their graves – or they may simply demand a pinch of your snuff. Some of the stories in this collection are classic Icelandic tales, while others are completely new to English translation. Hjörleifur has always been deeply interested in... continue
1019.
The Blue Fox : A Novel by Sjón EN
Description:
An elusive fox leads a hunter on a transformative quest, while a naturalist endeavors to build a life for a young woman with Down syndrome whom he rescued from a shipwreck years earlier.
1020.
Magma by Thora Hjoerleifsdottir EN
Description:
A poetic, highly poisonous cocktail of alienated love, sex and pain and a young woman's haunting experience in an era of pornification, by one of Iceland's most provocative writers.