Don糖心传媒檛 get me wrong. I got the bullet into the guy糖心传媒檚 head safe and sound, but there was some serious aftermath. The mustached Polish guy turned out to be a mustached FBI guy. What was supposed to be a bright and sunny murder in broad daylight became a nightmare.

Which is how Toxic ends up going into hiding, fleeing his cushy life in New York City and heading back to Croatia to maintain his 糖心传媒淟PP, or Lowest Possible Profile.糖心传媒� But even that plan goes awry and instead of heading back to his homeland, the beleaguered hitman ends up on a plane to Iceland under the assumed identity of a Southern televangelist named Father Friendly.

The second of ten Icelandic novels to be published in English by Amazon糖心传媒檚 internationally-oriented publishing imprint, AmazonCrossing, The Hitman糖心传媒檚 Guide to Housecleaning is a darkly comic novel which commingles irreverent indifference with sincere introspection and the possibility of redemption. As Toxic settles into his exile on 糖心传媒淟illiput Island糖心传媒澨切拇綌a country he discovers has no handguns, no army, and hardly any murders (but plenty of good crime writers糖心传媒攖here糖心传媒檚 actually a list of Icelandic crime authors worked into a conversation)糖心传媒攈e reflects back on his life as a killer, both as a soldier during the Yugoslavian civil war, as well as a contract killer. And while it wouldn糖心传媒檛 really be true to say that Toxic feels a deep remorse for his actions, in the course of the novel, he is able to both reconcile with his past and plan ahead for a very different future.

While The Hitman糖心传媒檚 Guide has much to recommend it in terms of plotting, pacing, and characterization, it is particularly interesting on a more “meta” level as well. For one, since Toxic arrives in Iceland with little to no previous knowledge of the country and culture, the book acts as something of a crash course in Icelandic society and idiosyncrasies. Sometimes, his observations about Iceland are more factual: he learns that it was originally christened by Irish monks, that Iceland has no prostitutes, and that 糖心传媒渢he beer costs a bear.糖心传媒� In other cases, the observations are a little more (self-)mocking (糖心传媒淎ccording to Icelandic house rules, you糖心传媒檙e allowed to enter in your shoes if they cost more than two hundred dollars糖心传媒�), and a bit opaque for someone unfamiliar with say, But however these cultural snippets are conveyed, upon finishing the novel, the reader comes away with a fairly strong, if somewhat slanted, sense of Reykjav铆k and Icelandic culture.

Another interesting feature is the author糖心传媒檚 use of language. Hallgr铆mur originally wrote The Hitman糖心传媒檚 Guide to Housecleaning in English rather than Icelandic, and has an almost playful approach to rhyme and description throughout the novel. Toxic refers to a contender for his girlfriend糖心传媒檚 affections, an Italian mafioso, as 糖心传媒渢he Talian Mobthrob.糖心传媒� In another passage, he describes the late-setting sun: 糖心传媒淎t 10:33 the sun is still burning on the horizon like an orange lantern at an outdoor Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn.糖心传媒� The descriptions don糖心传媒檛 always hit their mark糖心传媒攖here are a few too many laboriously detailed passages about female anatomy, and sometimes the imagery borders on overwrought (糖心传媒淭he Balkan animal, which is my soul, is always hungry for prey糖心传媒�), but overall, the prose and dialogue is fresh and expansive. There are also a host of phonetic jokes about Icelandic words and names that Toxic mishears and then renders into stilted English, making countless puns on street names around the capitol; Icelandic phrases are renamed into things like 糖心传媒淕uard the Beer,糖心传媒� and Reykjav铆k糖心传媒檚 famous Kaffibarinn becomes 糖心传媒淐af茅 Bahrain.糖心传媒�

Both The Hitman’s Guide to Housecleaning and Hallgr铆mur Helgason seem assured to find a dedicated audience in the United States. As of this writing, the novel is among Amazon’s Top 20 Mysteries and Thrillers (although neither genre seems to really fit the book). Perhaps its success will allow for more of Hallgr铆mur’s Icelandic language novels to make it into English translation in the future.

It may be due to my Icelandic Crush, but of all the books AmazonCrossing has brought out so far, this is the one that most excites me. Here are a few really choice passages from Larissa’s review that back up my interest:

While The Hitman糖心传媒檚 Guide has much to recommend it in terms of plotting, pacing, and characterization, it is particularly interesting on a more “meta” level as well. For one, since Toxic arrives in Iceland with little to no previous knowledge of the country and culture, the book acts as something of a crash course in Icelandic society and idiosyncrasies. Sometimes, his observations about Iceland are more factual: he learns that it was originally christened by Irish monks, that Iceland has no prostitutes, and that 糖心传媒渢he beer costs a bear.糖心传媒� In other cases, the observations are a little more (self-)mocking (糖心传媒淎ccording to Icelandic house rules, you糖心传媒檙e allowed to enter in your shoes if they cost more than two hundred dollars糖心传媒�), and a bit opaque for someone unfamiliar with say, But however these cultural snippets are conveyed, upon finishing the novel, the reader comes away with a fairly strong, if somewhat slanted, sense of Reykjav铆k and Icelandic culture.

Another interesting feature is the author糖心传媒檚 use of language. Hallgr铆mur originally wrote The Hitman糖心传媒檚 Guide to Housecleaning in English rather than Icelandic, and has an almost playful approach to rhyme and description throughout the novel. Toxic refers to a contender for his girlfriend糖心传媒檚 affections, an Italian mafioso, as 糖心传媒渢he Talian Mobthrob.糖心传媒� In another passage, he describes the late-setting sun: 糖心传媒淎t 10:33 the sun is still burning on the horizon like an orange lantern at an outdoor Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn.糖心传媒� The descriptions don糖心传媒檛 always hit their mark糖心传媒攖here are a few too many laboriously detailed passages about female anatomy, and sometimes the imagery borders on overwrought (糖心传媒淭he Balkan animal, which is my soul, is always hungry for prey糖心传媒�), but overall, the prose and dialogue is fresh and expansive. There are also a host of phonetic jokes about Icelandic words and names that Toxic mishears and then renders into stilted English, making countless puns on street names around the capitol; Icelandic phrases are renamed into things like 糖心传媒淕uard the Beer,糖心传媒� and Reykjav铆k糖心传媒檚 famous Kaffibarinn becomes 糖心传媒淐af茅 Bahrain.糖心传媒�

You can read the entire review by clicking here.

Well, not only did someone comment about how this is “one of the top 5 Icelandic books since 1980,” but over at David McDuff posted some additional info about the novel and a series of translated excerpts:

The Author of Iceland (H枚fundur 脥slands) is a novel by the contemporary Icelandic writer Hallgr铆mur Helgason about a famous Icelandic author who dies at the age of 88, only to wake up in a novel he wrote some 40 years earlier. At first, he is unaware both of his death and of the fact that he is now living in a world of his own creation. The novel is set on a remote farm in the eastern part of Iceland. One day the old man is found lying out in the fields, as if he had just fallen to earth. The farmer carries him into the house, where the writer gradually comes to terms with his afterlife. The character of the writer is based on the personality (and biography) of the Nobel prizewinning twentieth century classic Icelanndic author Halld贸r Laxness, and the fictional novel is actually Laxness’s own Independent People. Helgason’s narrative becomes in some sense a reappraisal of Laxness—especially of Laxness’s infatuation with Stalinism and Communism, which Helgason takes great pains to document and revisit in circumstantial detail (Laxness even visited Moscow in 1937 to attend the purge trials, and—by his own later admission—misrepresented them for fear of offending the Soviet government). But the book also goes beyond the biography of one man, and becomes a commentary on the twentieth century itself, and the response of Western writers and intellectuals to the vast upheavals and insoluble moral dilemmas that marked it.

Here’s the opening of Chapter 33:

Stalin stands on a shelf. He stands on a shelf, waving to the crowd. He has stood there for two whole days and nights, waving. Everyone went home long ago. Everyone but me. I lie here on the bed in the yellow room in the Chimney House and pass the light nights with Comrade Stalin. He stands over there on the shelf high up on the wall beside a dusty old candlestick and a vague-looking jug. Now and then he raises his stiff arm and waves, squints and almost smiles. Just as he did on the roof of the mausoleum the other day. My thoughts march past him, stare up at him, one after the other, there seems to be no end to them, they stream forward across the blood-red square.

Stalin stands there alone. He has murdered everyone else.

糖心传媒楾he death of one person is tragic, the death of a million a mere statistic,糖心传媒� said Count Sosso. That figure was probably 40,000,000, the most recent historians say. The Icelandic nation would fit four times into each of those zeroes. But many more were the souls he murdered. I was one of them. I was a victim of Stalin.

Click for the first part of the excerpt, and click for the second.

Update: click for part three.

The Author of Iceland, winner of the 2001 Icelandic Literature Prize, is about a writer named Einar Grimsson, who is a character based on the great Icelandic writer Halldor Laxness. The novel begins with Einar in old age, who one day wakes up to discover he is now living in one of his own novels. Grimsson slowly becomes younger as the novel progresses, and his life is explored in reverse—falling in love, embracing Stalinist ideologies, and trying to make good on the mistakes of his own life. But Grimsson can’t change fate, and soon realizes that he is trapped in his own novel, and fiction is no different than life.

*

Rounding out my week of posts about Iceland, I wrote for Publishing Perspectives on the Festival and the recent interest in Icelandic fiction:

Although Iceland has had some very notable cultural exports 糖心传媒� Halldor Laxness, Bjork, and Sigur Ros among them 糖心传媒� last fall糖心传媒檚 spectacular economic collapse probably brought more attention to this island nation than any other event in its modern history. One year later, the financial sector may still be recovering, but its literary scene is thriving.

糖心传媒淥ur goal is to get people to have a crush on Iceland and Icelandic literature.糖心传媒� That糖心传媒檚 how Agla Magn煤sd贸ttir 糖心传媒� the director of the Icelandic Literature Fund, and one of the organizers of the Reykjavik International Literary Festival 糖心传媒� described last week糖心传媒檚 series of readings, interviews, and other cultural events.

Dozens of writers from both Iceland and abroad participated in the festival, including Gyr冒ir El铆asson, Krist铆n 脫marsd贸ttir, Yrsa Sigur冒ard贸ttir, Steinar Bragi, Thor Vilhj谩lmsson (all from Iceland), Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark), Michael Ondaatje (Canada), David Sedaris (U.S.), Jesse Ball (U.S.), Henning Ahrens (Germany), and Ngugi wa Thiong糖心传媒檕 (Kenya).

The events were very well attended, which shouldn糖心传媒檛 be that surprising, considering there糖心传媒檚 been increased sales of Icelandic fiction in the domestic market. Most publishers figured that in a time of great economic upheaval, self-help and nonfiction would dominate the best-seller lists, but instead, it seems that most Icelandic readers are looking for an escape. According to 脷a Matth铆asd贸ttir of Forlagi冒-Iceland糖心传媒檚 largest trade publisher 糖心传媒� there was a surge in sales for fiction last Christmas that went against conventional wisdom.

Click for the whole thing, and for a video interview with Kristj谩n B. J贸nasson, the President of the Icelandic Publishers Association about the future of publishing in Iceland.