Anglický jazyk

From the Mouth of the Whale

Autor: Sjón

WINNER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY'S NORDIC PRIZE 2023

Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

'A terrific read...an extraordinarily accomplished novel' Independent'Kaleidoscopic and... Viac o knihe

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O knihe

WINNER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY'S NORDIC PRIZE 2023

Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

'A terrific read...an extraordinarily accomplished novel' Independent'Kaleidoscopic and mesmerising, comic and poignant' TLS

In this magical evocation of a vanished age, a poet and self-taught healer is banished in 1635 to a barren island off Iceland - a place darkened by superstition, poverty and cruelty. With only a purple sandpiper for company, Jónas Pálmason retraces his path to exile, recalling his exorcism of a walking corpse, the massacre of innocent Basque whalers at the hands of local villagers and the deaths of three of his children. But amid the cacophony of Copenhagen he will find hope and, finally, recognition of his enlightened ideas.

In the chilling aftermath of Iceland\'s Lutheran Reformation in 1635, Jonas Palmason - a poet, naturalist and self-taught healer - has been condemned to exile for heretical conduct. Sitting on a barren island, he contemplates his life in a country that has become gripped by feverish superstition and the cruelty of poverty. He recalls his gift for curing \'female maladies\', his exorcism of a walking corpse in the remote county of Snaefjallastrond, the frenzied massacre of innocent Basque whalers at the hands of local villagers and the death of two of his children while his family were on the run.

When his exile is suddenly revoked, Jonas finds himself swallowed and spewed from the mouth of a north whale, back onto the mainland. There he returns to the arms of his son and ends his days writing books of poetry and legend. Based on the historical figure Jon Gudmundsson, From the Mouth of the Whale is a magical evocation of an enlightened mind and a vanished age.