Out of the Blue: New Short Fiction from Iceland

Author:   Helen Mitsios ,  Sjon
Publisher:   University of Minnesota Press
ISBN:  

9781517902537


Pages:   216
Publication Date:   11 April 2017
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

Our Price $34.99 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

Out of the Blue: New Short Fiction from Iceland


Add your own review!

Overview

Out of the Blue is the first anthology of Icelandic short fiction published in English translation and features work by twenty of Iceland's most popular and celebrated living authors. The collection transports readers to Iceland's timeless and magical island of Vikings and geographical wonders, promising to be a seminal collection that will define Icelandic literature in translation for decades to come.

Full Product Details

Author:   Helen Mitsios ,  Sjon
Publisher:   University of Minnesota Press
Imprint:   University of Minnesota Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 21.00cm
Weight:   0.386kg
ISBN:  

9781517902537


ISBN 10:   1517902533
Pages:   216
Publication Date:   11 April 2017
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

Table of Contents

Contents Foreword Preface Helen Mitsios Self Portrait Auður Jónsdóttir Afternoon by the Pacific Ocean Kristín Ómarsdóttir Escape for Men Gerður Kristný The Most Precious Secret Einar Örn Gunnarsson Killer Whale Ólafur Gunnarsson The Secret Service of Ravens and the Three Hens Þórunn Erlu-Valdimarsdóttir One Hundred and Fifty Square Meters Kristín Eiríksdóttir Grass Andri Snær Magnason The Black Dog Gyrðir Elíasson Late Afternoon in Four Parts Bragi Ólafsson SMS from Catalonia Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir A Pen Changes Hands Óskar Árni Óskarsson The Cook Óskar Magnússon Travel Companion Rúnar Helgi Vignisson The Parables Magnús Sigurðsson The Horse in Greenland Einar Már Guðmundsson Laundry Day Águst Sverrisson Scorn Pole Þórarinn Eldjárn Harmonica Sonata in C Major Guðmundur Andri Thorsson The Universe and the Deep Velvet Dress Jón Kalman Stefanssón Contributors

Reviews

<i>Out of the Blue</i> reads like a series of lively dreams, by turns surreal and stoic and strange, and each sensational. It's no surprise these stories come from the land of Laxness. He has an heir in these pages. He might even have three or four. --Peter Geye, author of <i>Wintering</i></p> Offering unique insight into a country where the short story is as valued as the Sagas, <i>Out of the Blue</i> captures the spirit of Iceland. If you want to prepare for a trip to Iceland, all you need to do is read this book. --Jon Gnarr, writer and former mayor of Reykjavik</p> Perhaps it is because philosophy reached these shores comparatively late that Icelandic writers have never felt bound by the truth. While recognizing no literature except that which springs from reality, they reserve the right to distort the truth according to the demands of their tales. --Sjon, from the Foreword</p>


Out of the Blue reads like a series of lively dreams, by turns magical and stoic and strange, and each sensational. It's no surprise these stories come from the land of Halldor Laxness. He has an heir in these pages.-Peter Geye, author of Wintering Out of the Blue is a collection of Iceland's leading contemporary writers and all my favorite authors in one volume. It's an absolutely unique insight into Iceland's culture, mentality, and spirit-a country where the short story is as valued as the Sagas. If you plan to travel to Iceland and want to prepare, all you need to do is read this book. -J n Gnarr, writer and former mayor of Reykjavik Perhaps it is because philosophy reached these shores comparatively late that Icelandic writers have never felt bound by the truth. While recognizing no literature except that which springs from reality, they reserve the right to distort the truth according to the demands of their tales. -Sj n, from the Foreword - Helen Mitsios is to be congratulated on having compiled a highly readable and often entertaining miscellany of writing from a European literary culture that is still not as well known to the rest of the world as it ought to be. -Nordic Voices in Translation


-Out of the Blue reads like a series of lively dreams, by turns magical and stoic and strange, and each sensational. It's no surprise these stories come from the land of Halldor Laxness. He has an heir in these pages.---Peter Geye, author of Wintering-Out of the Blue is a collection of Iceland's leading contemporary writers and all my favorite authors in one volume. It's an absolutely unique insight into Iceland's culture, mentality, and spirit--a country where the short story is as valued as the Sagas. If you plan to travel to Iceland and want to prepare, all you need to do is read this book.---Jon Gnarr, writer and former mayor of Reykjavik-Perhaps it is because philosophy reached these shores comparatively late that Icelandic writers have never felt bound by the truth. While recognizing no literature except that which springs from reality, they reserve the right to distort the truth according to the demands of their tales.---Sjon, from the Foreword


Out of the Blue reads like a series of lively dreams, by turns magical and stoic and strange, and each sensational. It's no surprise these stories come from the land of Halldor Laxness. He has an heir in these pages. --Peter Geye, author of Wintering Out of the Blue is a collection of Iceland's leading contemporary writers and all my favorite authors in one volume. It's an absolutely unique insight into the Iceland's culture, mentality, and spirit--a country where the short story is as valued as the Sagas. If you plan to travel to Iceland and want to prepare, all you need to do is read this book. --Jon Gnarr, writer and former mayor of Reykjavik Perhaps it is because philosophy reached these shores comparatively late that Icelandic writers have never felt bound by the truth. While recognizing no literature except that which springs from reality, they reserve the right to distort the truth according to the demands of their tales. --Sjon, from the Foreword


"""Out of the Blue reads like a series of lively dreams, by turns magical and stoic and strange, and each sensational. It's no surprise these stories come from the land of Halldor Laxness. He has an heir in these pages.""—Peter Geye, author of Wintering ""Out of the Blue is a collection of Iceland’s leading contemporary writers and all my favorite authors in one volume. It’s an absolutely unique insight into Iceland's culture, mentality, and spirit—a country where the short story is as valued as the Sagas. If you plan to travel to Iceland and want to prepare, all you need to do is read this book.""—Jón Gnarr, writer and former mayor of Reykjavík ""Perhaps it is because philosophy reached these shores comparatively late that Icelandic writers have never felt bound by the truth. While recognizing no literature except that which springs from reality, they reserve the right to distort the truth according to the demands of their tales.""—Sjón, from the Foreword ""Helen Mitsios is to be congratulated on having compiled a highly readable and often entertaining miscellany of writing from a European literary culture that is still not as well known to the rest of the world as it ought to be.""—Nordic Voices in Translation ""This ambitious collection put out by the University of Minnesota Press is one of a kind.""—The Reykjavik Graepvine ""Offers a decent spectrum of Icelandic voices.""—Times Literary Supplement ""An excellent collection of short stories.""—Tony’s Reading List ""These are stories by and about Icelanders, not Iceland filtered through a tourist’s lens. These are stories of life, love, family, and the tenuous yet unbreakable connections between our ancestral pasts and our mundane presents. And while there’s something universal about those experiences, there’s also something distinctly Icelandic about it. "" —American Book Review"


Author Information

Helen Mitsios is a poet, author, literary critic, and editor of the groundbreaking anthologies New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction from Japan, which was twice listed both as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and “Summer Reading” selection; also Digital Geishas and Talking Frogs: The Best Short Stories from Japan; and most recently Beneath the Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary Icelandic Poetry. An award-winning poet, she is author of If Black Had a Shadow and coauthor of Waltzing with the Enemy: A Mother and Daughter Confront the Aftermath of the Holocaust. She is a professor of languages and literature at Touro College and University System in New York City. Sjón is an award-winning Icelandic author whose novels The Blue Fox, The Whispering Muse, From the Mouth of the Whale and Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was have been translated into thirty-five languages. Also a poet, he has published nine poetry collections, written four opera librettos and lyrics for various artists. In 2001 he was nominated for an Oscar for his lyrics in the film Dancer in The Dark. Sjón is the president of the Icelandic PEN Centre. He lives in Reykjavik.  

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

ls

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List