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, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and short stories. Writers who influenced Laxness included 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 pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

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 ...

, Sinclair Lewis, Upton Sinclair,

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 p ...

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 f ...

Early years

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 writing appeared in 1916 in the children's newspapers ''Æskan'' and ''Sólskin'', the latter being a part of the North American Icelandic newspaper '' Lögberg'', as well as in '' Morgunblaðið''. Laxness then attended and graduated from the Reykjavík Lyceum in the spring of 1918. By the time his first novel, ''Barn náttúrunnar'' (''Child of Nature''), was published in 1919, he had already begun his travels on the European continent.

1920s

In 1922, Halldór joined 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 dedic ...

followed the rules of Saint Benedict of Nursia. In 1923 he was baptized and confirmed in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

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

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

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 languages, 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 ...

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 th ...

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. ...

. 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''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...

to Catholicism. Laxness wrote of his experiences in the essay ''Kaþólsk viðhorf'' (1925), and 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 an ...

'' (1927), the latter book hailed by noted 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 th ...

"…(Laxness) did 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 United States in '' Heimskringla'', a Canadian newspaper. This resulted in charges being filed against him, his detention and the forfeiture of his passport. With the aid of Upton Sinclair 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". ...

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

'' stated: "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 has become 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 nationa ...

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

'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 a ...

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

neologisms A neologism Ancient_Greek.html"_;"title="_from_Ancient_Greek">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_com ...

. He continued to court controversy over the next few years through the publication of new editions of several Icelandic sagas using modern Icelandic rather than the normalized

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 ...

, which had become customary. Laxness and his publishing partners were taken to court following the publication of his edition of '' Hrafnkels saga'' in 1942. They were found guilty of violating a recent copyright law, but eventually they were acquitted of the charge when the copyright law was deemed a violation to 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." "Halldór Kiljan Laxness’s three-volume ''Íslandsklukkan'' … is probably the most significant (Icelandic) novel of the 1940s." In 1946 the English translation of ''Independent People'' was published as a Book of the Month Club selection in the United States, selling 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 began a new family. Auður, in addition to her domestic duties, also assumed the roles of personal secretary and business manager. In response to the establishment of a permanent U.S. military base in Keflavík, he wrote the

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

''Atómstöðin'' ('' The Atom Station''), 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 United States.

"The demoralization of the occupation period is described ... nowhere as dramatically as in Halldór Kiljan Laxness' ''Atómstöðin'' (1948)... here he portrayspostwar society in Reykjavík, completely torn from its moorings by the avalanche of foreign gold."

Due to its examination of modern Reykjavík, ''Atómstöðin'' caused many critics and readers to consider it as the exemplary "Reykjavík Novel."

1950s

In 1952 Laxness was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize and in 1953 he 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 mas ...

literary Prize. A Swedish film adaptation of his novel ''Salka Valka'', 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 Happine ...

and filmed by Sven Nykvist, was released in 1954. In 1955 Laxness was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "… 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, 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 prize

Elias Wessén Elias Wessén (15 April 1889 – 30 January 1981) was a prominent Swedish linguist and a professor of Scandinavian languages at Stockholm University (1928–1956). In 1947, he was honoured with one of the 18 seats at the Swedish Academy (which f ...

stated:

"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 for the Nobel Prize Laxness spoke of:

"… the moral principles she is grandmotherinstilled 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 based on the Old Icelandic '' Fóstbræðra saga''.Ástráður Eysteinsson,Is Halldór Laxness the Author of ''Fóstbræðra saga''? On the Author Function, Intertextuality, Translation, and ...

'', (''The Happy Warriors''/''Wayward Heroes'', 1952), ''Brekkukotsannáll'', ('' The Fish Can Sing'', 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 throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. As he grew older he began to suffer from Alzheimer's disease and eventually moved into a nursing home, where he died on 8 February 1998, at the age of 95.

Family and legacy

Laxness married to Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir (3 May 1908 - 22 January 1994) in 1930 (divorced in 1940), and married Auður Sveinsdóttir (30 June 1918 - 29 October 2012) in 1945. He had four children: Sigríður Mária Elísabet Halldórsdóttir (''Maria'', 10 April 1923 - 19 March 2016), Einar Laxness (9 August 1931 - 23 May 2016), Sigríður Halldórsdóttir (''Sigga'', b. 26 May 1951) and

Guðný Halldórsdóttir Guðný Halldórsdóttir (born 23 January 1954) is an Icelandic film director and screenwriter. She has directed eight films since 1984, including '' Under the Glacier'' and ''The Honour of the House''. She wrote the screenplay for 1986 comed ...

(''Duna'', b. 23 January 1954). Guðný Halldórsdóttir is a filmmaker whose first work was the 1989 adaptation of ''Kristnihald undir jōkli'' (''Under the Glacier''). In 1999 her adaptation of her father's story ''Úngfrúin góða og Húsið'' ('' The Honour of the House'') 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. Another grandchild, Auður Jónsdóttir, is an author and playwright. Gljúfrasteinn (Laxness's house, grounds and personal effects) is now a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

operated by the

Icelandic government 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 has increased following the reissue of several of his novels 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 the novel ''Gerpla'' was published as ''Wayward Heroes''. A new translation of ''Salka Valka'' will be released in 2022. Halldór Guðmundsson's book ''The Islander: A Biography of Halldór Laxness'' won the

Icelandic Literary Prize The Icelandic Literary Prize (Icelandic language, 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 ...

for best work of

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

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 ...

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

Bibliography

Works by Laxness

Novels

* 1919: ''Barn náttúrunnar'' (''Child of Nature'') * 1924: ''Undir Helgahnúk'' (''Under the Holy Mountain'') * 1927: ''Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír'' ('' The Great Weaver from Kashmir'') * 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''), '' Independent People'' * 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'' ('' The Atom Station'') * 1952: ''Gerpla'' (''The Happy Warriors'' (1958) / ''Wayward Heroes'' (2016)) * 1957: ''Brekkukotsannáll'' ('' The Fish Can Sing'') * 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'')

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) * 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 t ...

* 1945: ''Birtingur'' ('' Candide''),

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

* 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

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