Heaven and Hell
By: Jón Kalman Stefánsson ; translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton
Contributors: Roughton, Philip
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 193
ISBN-13: 9781623651060; 9781623654726
Copyright date: 2010
Subjects: Fishing stories; Death; Friendship; Bereavement; Fiction
Work titles: Himnariki og helviti
Description: In a remote part of Iceland, a boy and his friend Barethur join a boat to fish for cod. A winter storm surprises them out at sea and Barethur, who has forgotten his waterproof as he was too absorbed in 'Paradise Lost', succumbs to the ferocious cold and dies. Appalled by the death and by the fishermen's callous ability to set about gutting the fatal catch, the boy leaves the village, intending to return the book to its owner. The extreme hardship and danger of the journey is of little consequence to him - he has already resolved to join his friend in death. But once in the town he immerses himself in the stories and lives of its inhabitants, and decides that he cannot be with his friend just yet. Set at the turn of the twentieth century, Heaven and Hell is a perfectly formed, vivid and timeless story, lyrical in style, and as intense a reading experience as the forces of the Icelandic landscape themselves. An outstandingly moving novel.
Notes: Originally published as Himnariki og helviti: Reykjavik, Iceland : Bjartur, 2008.

Translated from the Icelandic.