Category Archives: Literature

Sigrid Undset’s Other Masterpiece – The Master of Hestviken – Vol. 1: The Axe

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

The Axe (The Master of Hestviken, Vol. 1) by Sigrid Undset. Vintage, 1994. I wonder if any reader of Sigrid Undset comes to The Master of Hestviken first.  It seems that most find their way here after spending many precious hours, days, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Literature | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Faroe Islands: “The Old Man and His Sons” by Heðin Brú #TTWIB

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

Brú, Heðin. The Old Man and His Sons (trans. John F. West). Telegram Books, 2013. Kindle edition. (Original work published 1940, English translation 1970) The Faroe Islands, situated in the North Atlantic halfway between Scotland and Iceland, still have a bit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

“Independent People” by Halldór Laxness: First Impressions for #ReadNobels #TTWIB April Challenge

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

I have really enjoyed this month’s Travel the World in Books (#TTWIB) challenge, organized by Aloi of Guiltless Reading, who invited us to read one book by a Nobel prize-winning author. Her announcement post for April’s combined challenge has the linkups of those who … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Literature, Sagas and Tales | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

#ReadNobels for Travel the World in Books in April @ Guiltless Reading

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

My esteemed co-host, Aloi of Guiltless Reading, is hosting our Travel the World in Books (#TTWIB) event for April, combining this ongoing challenge–to read our way around the world with diverse books–with her own fabulous challenge to read books by … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Literature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

An Estonian Tragedy–“Purge” by Sofi Oksanen

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

Purge, a novel by Sofi Oksanen (Trans. from the Finnish by Lola Rogers). New York: Black Cat, Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2010. (Original work Puhdistus published 2008) Purge depicts the bitter realities of Estonian life during the post-war Russian occupation and Stalinist … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Literature | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

“Babette’s Feast”: the Story and the Film

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

“Babette’s Feast” is a short story by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), the Danish author whose real life experiences managing a farm in British East Africa (colonial Kenya) led her to write Out of Africa (1937).  Anyone who has read that book, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Historical Fiction, Literature, Sagas and Tales | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

2015 Reading Challenges–Nonfiction and Books in Translation (Perfect Together)

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

This blog is my place for visiting the “Northern Lights” countries of Scandinavia, including Iceland, by way of my dream reading list. I have books beckoning in each of my categories of literature, history, biography, travel, and food (see my … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Literature | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Review: “The House by the Fjord” by Rosalind Laker

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

The House by the Fjord by Rosalind Laker. Severn House, 2011. The House by the Fjord is the last novel of the prolific romance writer Barbara Øvstedal  (1921-2012), who wrote primarily under the pen name of Rosalind Laker. Her many … Continue reading →

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Arctic Mysteries Run Deep: “Under the Snow” by Kerstin Ekman

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

Under the Snow by Kerstin Ekman, trans. Joan Tate, Picador, 1999. (First published in Swedish in 1961) Kerstin Ekman’s Under the Snow stretches the police procedural  genre–or rather, freezes it–to fit its setting: a tiny Sami village on the Arctic … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Nordic Noir | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Review: “The Laughing Policeman” by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Lucy Pollard-Gott

The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, trans. Alan Blair, Random House, 1970. My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Martin Beck series by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö changed the scope of detective fiction in Sweden, adding … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Nordic Noir | Tagged , , | 8 Comments