The Fish Can Sing - (Vintage International) by Halldor Laxness (Paperback)

About the Book

A sort of Icelandic "Great Gatsby," this beloved gem of a coming-of-age novelis one of Nobel Prize-winning author Laxnesss most accessible. 12,500print.

Book Synopsis

One of the most beloved novels from the Nobel Prize winner, a poignant coming-of-age tale marked with the peculiar Icelandic blend of light irony and dark humor. - With an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres.

The orphan Alfgrimur has spent an idyllic childhood sheltered in the simple turf cottage of a generous and eccentric elderly couple. Alfgrimur dreams only of becoming a fisherman like his adoptive grandfather, until he meets Iceland's biggest celebrity. The opera singer Gardar Holm's international fame is a source of tremendous pride to tiny, insecure Iceland, though no one there has ever heard him sing.

A mysterious man who mostly avoids his homeland and repeatedly fails to perform for his adoring countrymen, Gardar takes a particular interest in Alfgrimur's budding musical talent and urges him to seek out the world beyond the one he knows and loves. But as Alfgrimur discovers that Gardar is not what he seems, he begins to confront the challenge of finding his own path without turning his back on where he came from.

Review Quotes

"This weird and wonderful novel is Laxness at his best: a reminder of the mad hilarity of the Icelandic sensibility." --Nicholas Shakespeare

"Enchanting.... This novel is a true pleasure." --The Independent (London)

About the Author

HALLDOR LAXNESS was born near Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1902. His first novel was published when he was seventeen. The undisputed master of contemporary Icelandic fiction, and one of the outstanding novelists of the century, he wrote more than sixty books, including novels, short stories, essays, poems, plays, and memoirs. In 1955 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Laxness died in Iceland in 1998.