Halldór Kiljan Laxness (; born Halldór Guðjónsson; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer and winner of the

1955 Nobel Prize in Literature The 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Icelandic writer Halldór Kiljan Laxness (1902–1998) "for his vivid epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland." He is the first and only Icelandic recipient of the Nobel ...

. He wrote novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and short stories. Writers who influenced Laxness include August Strindberg,

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...

, Sinclair Lewis,

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

, and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

Life

Early life

Halldór Guðjónsson was born in Reykjavík in 1902. When he was three, his family moved to the Laxnes farm in Mosfellssveit parish. He was brought up and enormously influenced by his grandmother, who "sang me ancient songs before I could talk, told me stories from heathen times and sang me cradle songs from the Catholic era". He started to read books and write stories at an early age and attended the technical school in Reykjavík from 1915 to 1916. His earliest published writings appeared in 1916 in ''Morgunblaðið'' and in the children's periodical ''Æskan.'' The same year, two letters-to-the-editor Halldór wrote also appeared in the North American-Icelandic children's newspapers ''Sólskin'', which was published in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Laxness then attended and in 1918 graduated from the Reykjavík Lyceum. By the time his first novel, ''Barn náttúrunnar'' (''Child of Nature'', 1919), was published he had already begun his travels on the European continent.

1920s

In 1922, Halldór moved into and considered joining the Abbaye Saint-Maurice et Saint-Maur in

Clervaux Clervaux (; lb, Clierf or (locally) ; german: Clerf) is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, administrative capital of the canton of Clervaux. The town's arms, granted in 1896, show three blackbirds on a gold ground in the chief of a red ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, where the

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

followed the rules of

Saint Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...

. In 1923 he was baptized and confirmed in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, adopting the surname Laxness after the homestead on which he was raised and adding the name Kiljan (the Icelandic name of Irish martyr

Saint Killian Kilian, also spelled Cillian or Killian (or alternatively ga, Cillín; la, Kilianus), was an Irish missionary bishop and the Apostle of Franconia (Franconia is nowadays the northern part of Bavaria), where he began his labours in the latter ha ...

); Laxness practiced self-study, read books, and studied

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. He became a member of a group that prayed for reversion of the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

to Catholicism. Laxness wrote of his experiences in the essay ''Kaþólsk viðhorf'' (1925) and in the novels ''Undir Helgahnúk'' (1924) and ''

Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír ''Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír'' (''The Great Weaver from Kashmir'') is the third novel by Halldór Kiljan Laxness, published in 1927 by the Reykjavík publisher Forlagið. The theme of the work is a young man's soul and search for truth, faith and ...

'' (1927), the latter hailed by Icelandic critic Kristján Albertsson:

Finally, finally, a grand novel which towers like a cliff above the flatland of contemporary Icelandic poetry and fiction! Iceland has gained a new literary giant - it is our duty to celebrate the fact with joy!

Laxness's religious period did not last long. He lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from 1927 to 1929, giving lectures on Iceland and attempting to write screenplays for Hollywood films. During this time he became attracted to

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

axnessdid not become a socialist in America from studying manuals of socialism but from watching the starving unemployed in the parks. Laxness joined the socialist bandwagon… with a book ''Alþýðubókin'' (''The Book of the People'', 1929) of brilliant burlesque and satirical essays Beside the fundamental idea of socialism, the strong sense of Icelandic individuality is also the sustaining element in ''Alþýðubókin''. The two elements are entwined together in characteristic fashion and in their very union give the work its individual character.

In 1929 Laxness published an article critical of the U.S. in '' Heimskringla'', a Canadian newspaper. This resulted in charges against him, his detention, and the forfeiture of his passport. With the aid of

and the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

, the charges were dropped and Laxness returned to Iceland.

1930s

By the 1930s Laxness "had become the apostle of the younger generation" of Icelandic writers.

''Salka Valka'' (1931–32) began the great series of sociological novels, often coloured with socialist ideas, continuing almost without a break for nearly twenty years. This was probably the most brilliant period of his career, and it is the one which produced those of his works that have become most famous. But Laxness never attached himself permanently to a particular dogma.Sveinn Hoskuldsson, "Scandinavica", 1972 supplement, pp. 1–2

In addition to the two parts of ''Salka Valka'', Laxness published ''Fótatak manna'' (''Steps of Men'') in 1933, a collection of short stories, as well as other essays, notably ''Dagleið á fjöllum'' (''A Day's Journey in the Mountains'') in 1937. Laxness's next novel was ''Sjálfstætt fólk (

Independent People ''Independent People: An Epic'' ( is, Sjálfstætt fólk) is an novel by Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness, originally published in two volumes in 1934 and 1935; literally the title means "Self-standing .e. self-reliantfolk". It deals with the st ...

'' (1934 and 1935), which has been called "one of the best books of the twentieth century." When ''Salka Valka'' was published in English in 1936 a reviewer at the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' wrote: "No beauty is allowed to exist as ornamentation in its own right in these pages; but the work is replete from cover to cover with the beauty of its perfection." In 1937 Laxness wrote the poem ''Maístjarnan'' (''The May Star''), which was set to music by Jón Ásgeirsson and became a socialist anthem. This was followed by the four-part novel ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'', 1937, 1938, 1939, and 1940), which is loosely based on the life of Magnús Hjaltason Magnusson, a minor Icelandic poet of the late 19th century. It has been "consistently regarded by many critics as his most important work." Laxness also traveled to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1938 and wrote approvingly of the Soviet system and culture. He was present at the "

Trial of the Twenty-one In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

" and wrote about it in detail in his book ''Gerska æfintýrið'' (''The Russian Adventure''). In the late 1930s Laxness developed a unique spelling system that was closer to pronunciation than standard Icelandic. This characteristic of his writing is lost in translation.

1940s

In 1941 Laxness translated Hemingway's ''

A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the am ...

'' into Icelandic, which caused controversy because of his use of

neologisms A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

. He continued to court controversy over the next few years through the publication of new editions of several Saga, Icelandic sagas using

modern Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely re ...

rather than the

Old Norse orthography The orthography of the Old Norse language was diverse, being written in both Runic and Latin alphabets, with many spelling conventions, variant letterforms, and unique letters and signs. In modern times, scholars established a standardized spellin ...

that had become customary. Laxness and his publishing partners were taken to court after the publication of his edition of ''

Hrafnkels saga ''Hrafnkels saga'' (; ) or ''Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða'' (O.N.: ; Ice.: ) is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of struggles between chieftains and farmers in the east of Iceland in the 10th century. The eponymous main character, Hrafnkell, st ...

'' in 1942. They were found guilty of violating a recent copyright law, but eventually acquitted when the copyright law was deemed a violation of the freedom of the press. Laxness's "epic" three-part work of historical fiction, '' Íslandsklukkan'' ('' Iceland's Bell''), was published between 1943 and 1946. It has been described as a novel of broad "geographical and political scope… expressly concerned with national identity and the role literature plays in forming it… a tale of colonial exploitation and the obdurate will of a suffering people." "Laxness’s three-volume ''Íslandsklukkan'' … is probably the most significant celandicnovel of the 1940s." In 1946 the English translation of ''Independent People'' was published as a Book of the Month Club selection in the U.S. and sold over 450,000 copies. In 1945 Halldór and his second wife, Auður Sveinsdóttir, moved into Gljúfrasteinn, a new house built in the countryside near Mosfellsbær, where they started a family. In addition to her domestic duties, Auður assumed the roles of personal secretary and business manager. In response to the establishment of a permanent U.S. military base in Keflavík, Halldór wrote the satire ''Atómstöðin'' (''

The Atom Station The Atom Station ( is, Atómstöðin) is a novel by Icelandic author Halldór Laxness, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955. The initial print run sold out on the day it was published, for the first time in Icelandic history. ...

''), which may have contributed to a

blacklisting Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

of his novels in the U.S.

The demoralization of the occupation period is described ... nowhere as dramatically as in Halldór Kiljan Laxness' ''Atómstöðin'' (1948)...
here he portrays Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...
postwar society in Reykjavík, completely torn from its moorings by the avalanche of foreign gold.

For its examination of modern Reykjavík, many critics and readers consider ''Atómstöðin'' the exemplary "Reykjavík Novel."

1950s

In 1952 Halldór was awarded the Soviet-sponsored

World Peace Council The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization with the self-described goals of advocating for universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass d ...

literary prize. A Swedish film adaptation of his novel ''

Salka Valka ''Salka Valka'' is a 1954 Swedish drama film directed by Arne Mattsson and starring Gunnel Broström, Folke Sundquist and Margaretha Krook. It was shot at the Stockholm studios of Nordisk Tonefilm and location shooting, on location in Iceland. T ...

'', directed by

Arne Mattsson Arne Mattsson (2 December 1919 – 28 June 1995) was a Swedish film director. Biography Born in Uppsala, the early films of Mattsson were mostly comedies. His biggest success was '' Hon dansade en sommar'' (1951, aka. ''One Summer of Happiness ...

and filmed by Sven Nykvist, was released in 1954. In 1955 Laxness was awarded the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

"for his vivid epic power, which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland".

His chief literary works belong to the genre… fnarrative prose fiction. In the history of our literature Laxness is mentioned beside
Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
, the author of " Njals saga", and his place in world literature is among writers such as Cervantes, Zola, Tolstoy, and Hamsun… He is the most prolific and skillful essayist in Icelandic literature both old and new…

In the presentation address for the Nobel,

Elias Wessén Elias Wessén (15 April 1889 – 30 January 1981) was a prominent Swedish linguist and a professor of Scandinavian languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-Eu ...

said:

He is an excellent painter of Icelandic scenery and settings. Yet this is not what he has conceived of as his chief mission. "Compassion is the source of the highest poetry. Compassion with Asta Sollilja on earth," he says in one of his best books… And a social passion underlies everything Halldór Laxness has written. His personal championship of contemporary social and political questions is always very strong, sometimes so strong that it threatens to hamper the artistic side of his work. His safeguard then is the astringent humour which enables him to see even people he dislikes in a redeeming light, and which also permits him to gaze far down into the labyrinths of the human soul.

In his acceptance speech, Laxness spoke of:

… the moral principles
y grandmother Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh ...
instilled in me: never to harm a living creature; throughout my life, to place the poor, the humble, the meek of this world above all others; never to forget those who were slighted or neglected or who had suffered injustice, because it was they who, above all others, deserved our love and respect…

Laxness grew increasingly disenchanted with the Soviet bloc after the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In 1957 Halldór and his wife went on a world tour, stopping in New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago, Madison, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Peking (Beijing), Bombay (Mumbai), Cairo, and Rome. Major works in this decade were ''

Gerpla ''Gerpla'' is a 1952 Icelandic novel by Halldór Laxness Halldór Kiljan Laxness (; born Halldór Guðjónsson; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer and winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote novels, po ...

'', (''The Happy Warriors''/''Wayward Heroes'', 1952), ''Brekkukotsannáll'', (''

The Fish Can Sing ''The Fish Can Sing'' () is a 1957 novel by Icelandic author Halldór Laxness, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955. Plot summary The novel is set at the start of the twentieth century and deals with the orphaned boy Álfgrí ...

'', 1957), and ''Paradísarheimt'', (''Paradise Reclaimed'', 1960).

Later years

In the 1960s Laxness was very active in Icelandic theater. He wrote and produced plays, the most successful of which was ''The Pigeon Banquet'' (''Dúfnaveislan'', 1966). In 1968 Laxness published the "visionary novel" ''Kristnihald undir Jökli'' (''Under the Glacier / Christianity at the Glacier''). In the 1970s he published what he called "essay novels": ''Innansveitarkronika'' (''A Parish Chronicle'', 1970) and ''Guðsgjafaþula'' (''A Narration of God's Gifts'', 1972). Neither has been translated into English. Laxness was awarded the Sonning Prize in 1969. In 1970 Laxness published an influential ecological essay, ''Hernaðurinn gegn landinu'' (''The War Against the Land''). He continued to write essays and memoirs into the 1980s. As he grew older he began to suffer from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and eventually moved into a nursing home, where he died on 8 February 1998, at the age of 95.

Family and legacy

In 1922, Laxness met Málfríður Jónsdóttir (29 August 1896 - 7 November 2003), who gave birth to his first daughter, María, on 10 April 1923. In 1930, he married Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir (3 May 1908 - 22 January 1994), who gave birth to his son Einar on 9 August 1931. In 1940 they divorced. In 1939, he met Auður Sveinsdóttir (30 June 1918 - 29 October 2012) at Laugavatn. Auður waited for Laxness and made sacrifices so he could focus on his work. They married in 1945 and moved into their home, Gljúfrasteinn, in Mosfellsbær later that year. Auður and Halldór had two daughters: Sigríður, born 26 May 1951, and Guðný, born 23 May 1954. His daughter Guðný Halldórsdóttir is a filmmaker whose first work was the 1989 adaptation of ''Kristnihald undir jōkli'' (''Under the Glacier''). In 1999 her adaptation of Laxness's story ''Úngfrúin góða og Húsið'' (''

The Honour of the House ''The Honour of the House'' () is a 1999 Icelandic film directed by Guðný Halldórsdóttir. It was Iceland's official List of submissions to the 72nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 7 ...

'') was submitted for consideration for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Foreign Film. Guðný's son, Halldór Laxness Halldórsson, is a writer, actor, and poet. A grandchild,

Auður Jónsdóttir Auður Jónsdóttir (born 30 March 1973) is an Icelandic author. Her novels deal with family, particularly mother-daughter relationships. Career Auður's debut novel, ''Bliss'' (Stjórnlaus Lukka), was nominated for the Icelandic Literary ...

, is an author and playwright.

Gljúfrasteinn Gljúfrasteinn () is a writer's home museum, which was the former home of Halldór Kiljan Laxness, a 1955 Nobel Prize for Literature winner. It is located in Mosfellsbær, east of Reykjavík, Iceland. The name of the house is derived from a large ...

(Laxness's house, grounds, and personal effects) is now a museum operated by the

government of Iceland The politics of Iceland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, while the prime minister of Iceland serves as the head of government in a multi-party system ...

. In the 21st century, interest in Laxness in English-speaking countries increased after several of his novels were reissued and the first English-language publications of ''Iceland's Bell'' (2003) and ''The Great Weaver from Kashmir'' (2008). In 2016 a new English-language translation of ''Gerpla'' was published as ''Wayward Heroes''. A new English-language translation of ''Salka Valka'' was released in 2022 to widespread acclaim. Halldór Guðmundsson's book ''The Islander: A Biography of Halldór Laxness'' won the

Icelandic Literary Prize The Icelandic Literary Prize ( Icelandic: ''Íslensku bókmenntaverðlaunin''), or Icelandic Literary Award, is an award which is given to three books each year by the Icelandic Publishers Association. The prize was founded on the association's cen ...

for best work of nonfiction in 2004. Numerous dramatic adaptations of Laxness's work have been staged in Iceland. In 2005 the Icelandic National Theatre premiered a play by

Ólafur Haukur Símonarson Ólafur Haukur Símonarson, (born August 24, 1947 in Reykjavík), is an Icelandic playwright and novelist who lives in Reykjavík, Iceland. He is married to actress Guðlaug María Bjarnadóttir and they have three children. He studied interior des ...

, ''Halldór í Hollywood'' (''Halldór in Hollywood''), about Laxness's time in the United States in the 1920s. A biennial Halldór Laxness International Literary Prize is awarded at the Reykjavík International Literary Festival.

Bibliography

Novels

* 1919: ''Barn náttúrunnar'' (''Child of Nature'') * 1924: ''Undir Helgahnúk'' (''Under the Holy Mountain'') * 1927: ''Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír'' (''

The Great Weaver from Kashmir ''The Great Weaver from Kashmir'' ( is, Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír) is the third novel by Halldór Kiljan Laxness, published in 1927 by the Reykjavík publisher Forlagið. The theme of the work is a young man's soul and search for truth, faith ...

'') * 1931: ''Þú vínviður hreini'' (''O Thou Pure Vine'') – Part I of ''Salka Valka'' * 1932: ''Fuglinn í fjörunni'' (''The Bird on the Beach'') – Part II of ''Salka Valka'' * 1933: ''Úngfrúin góða og Húsið'' (''The Honour of the House''), as part of ''Fótatak manna: sjö þættir'' * 1934: ''Sjálfstætt fólk'' — Part I, ''Landnámsmaður Íslands'' (''Icelandic Pioneers''), ''

'' * 1935: ''Sjálfstætt fólk'' – Part II, ''Erfiðir tímar'' (''Hard Times''), ''Independent People'' * 1937: ''Ljós heimsins'' (''The Light of the World'') – Part I of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'') * 1938: ''Höll sumarlandsins'' (''The Palace of the Summerland'') – Part II of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'') * 1939: ''Hús skáldsins'' (''The Poet's House'') – Part III of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'') * 1940: ''Fegurð himinsins'' (''The Beauty of the Skies'') – Part IV of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'') * 1943: ''Íslandsklukkan'' ''(Iceland's Bell)'' – Part I of ''Íslandsklukkan'' ('' Iceland's Bell'') * 1944: ''Hið ljósa man'' (''The Bright Maiden'') – Part II of ''Íslandsklukkan'' (''Iceland's Bell'') * 1946: ''Eldur í Kaupinhafn'' (''Fire in Copenhagen'') – Part III of ''Íslandsklukkan'' (''Iceland's Bell'') * 1948: ''Atómstöðin'' (''

'') * 1952: ''Gerpla'' (''The Happy Warriors'' (1958) / ''Wayward Heroes'' (2016)) * 1957: ''Brekkukotsannáll'' (''

'') * 1960: ''Paradísarheimt'' (''Paradise Reclaimed'') * 1968: ''Kristnihald undir Jökli'' (''Under the Glacier / Christianity at the Glacier'') * 1970: ''Innansveitarkronika'' (''A Parish Chronicle'') * 1972: ''Guðsgjafaþula'' (''A Narration of God's Gifts'')

Stories

* 1923: ''Nokkrar sögur'' * 1933: ''Fótatak manna'' * 1935: ''Þórður gamli halti'' * 1942: ''Sjö töframenn'' * 1954: ''Þættir'' (collection) * 1964: ''Sjöstafakverið'' * 1981: ''Við Heygarðshornið'' * 1987: ''Sagan af brauðinu dýra'' * 1992: ''Jón í Brauðhúsum'' * 1996: ''Fugl á garðstaurnum og fleiri smásögur'' * 1999: ''Úngfrúin góða og Húsið'' * 2000: ''Smásögur'' * 2001: ''Kórvilla á Vestfjörðum og fleiri sögur''

Plays

* 1934: ''Straumrof'' * 1950: ''Snæfríður Íslandssól'' (from the novel '' Íslandsklukkan'') * 1954: ''Silfurtúnglið'' * 1961: ''Strompleikurinn'' * 1962: ''Prjónastofan Sólin'' * 1966: ''Dúfnaveislan'' * 1970: ''Úa'' (from the novel ''Kristnihald undir Jökli'') * 1972: ''Norðanstúlkan'' (from the novel ''

Atómstöðin The Atom Station ( is, Atómstöðin) is a novel by Icelandic author Halldór Laxness, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955. The initial print run sold out on the day it was published, for the first time in Icelandic history. Pl ...

'')

Poetry

* 1925: ''Únglíngurinn í skóginum'' * 1930: ''Kvæðakver''

Travelogues and essays

* 1925: ''Kaþólsk viðhorf'' (''Catholic View'') * 1929: ''Alþýðubókin'' (''The Book of the People'') * 1933: ''Í Austurvegi'' (''In the Baltic'') * 1938: ''Gerska æfintýrið'' (''The Russian Adventure'')

Memoirs

* 1952: ''Heiman eg fór'' (subtitle: sjálfsmynd æskumanns) * 1963: ''Skáldtími'' * 1975: ''Í túninu heima'', part I * 1976: ''Úngur eg var'', part II * 1978: ''Sjömeistarasagan'', part III * 1980: ''Grikklandsárið'', part IV * 1987: ''Dagar hjá múnkum''

Translations

* 1941: ''Vopnin kvödd'' (''

''),

* 1943: ''Kirkjan á fjallinu'' (''Kirken på bjerget''),

Gunnar Gunnarsson Gunnar Gunnarsson (18 May 1889 – 21 November 1975) was an Icelandic author who wrote mainly in Danish. He grew up, in considerable poverty, on Valþjófsstaður in Fljótsdalur valley and on Ljótsstaðir in Vopnafjörður. During th ...

* 1945: ''Birtingur'' (''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

''),

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

* 1966: ''Veisla í Farángrinum'' ('' A Moveable Feast''), Ernest Hemingway

Other

* 1941: ''Laxdaela Saga'', edited with preface * 1942: ''Hrafnkatla,'' edited with preface * 1945: ''Brennunjal's Saga,'' edited with afterword * 1945: ''Alexander's Saga,'' edited with preface * 1946: ''Grettis Saga'', edited with preface * 1952: ''Kvaedi og ritgerdir'' by Johann Jonsson, edited with preface

References

Sources

*Halldór Guðmundsson. 2004. Halldór Laxness. (Reykjavík: JPV)

External links

Gljúfrasteinn, the Halldór Laxness Museum website
* including the prize motivation *
Dennis Haarsager's biography

''Laxness in Translation'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laxness, Halldor 1902 births 1998 deaths Halldor Laxness Icelandic essayists Halldor Laxness Roman Catholic writers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Halldor Laxness Nobel laureates in Literature Halldor Laxness Halldor Laxness 20th-century translators Writers about the Soviet Union 20th-century Icelandic novelists 20th-century Roman Catholics Deaths from dementia in Iceland Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Icelandic people with family names