THE SIXTY KILO SAGA, VOLUME  #3
When Gestur Eilifsson, our protagonist, receives an unexpected letter from his father, who he thought was long lost at sea, he embarks on a long journey out west, to meet him before he dies. In America, he discovers a strange, new world — and uncharted parts of himself. Meanwhile, back in his home fjord, everything is in flux. New characters and ideas come ashore, sparking a decade of fierce class struggle.
The narrative picks up immediately after the end of Volume 2, spanning the years between 1919 and 1932, and a host of characters, both familiar and fresh, come alive in its pages.

ABOUT THE TRILOGY
The Sixty Kilo Saga is an immersive historical trilogy that charts Iceland’s journey from being one of the poorest nations in Europe at the turn of the 20th century to a society on the brink of modernity. At the heart of this sweeping narrative is the boy Gestur, who is saved from an avalanche on page one, at the age of two, and is orphaned shortly after that. We follow his constant struggle for survival in the remote fjord village of Seglo, where life changes overnight after Norwegian fishermen discover a herring fishery—a discovery that transforms the once-backward parish into a boomtown in a matter of years.
As the herring industry flourishes, Gestur eyes an opportunity to escape his poverty, and Seglo becomes a symbol of Iceland’s rapid growth, but it’s also a place of stark contrasts. The trilogy masterfully explores the intertwined lives of a diverse cast of characters—fishermen, officials, priests, entrepreneurs, and families—whose personal struggles reflect the larger societal shifts.

Through richly detailed prose, the saga captures the majesty of Iceland’s rugged landscape and the gritty reality of a community swept up by change. With themes of survival, ambition, and identity, The Sixty Kilo Saga is a powerful exploration – both timeless and timely – of how the tides of fortune shape not only an individual and a village but an entire nation.

“[Helgason] delivers a moving historical fresco with Sixty Kilos of Sunshine, a powerful and generous poetic work. Epic … [Helgason]is a formidable storyteller who cultivates a bitingly sarcastic irony … Sixty Kilos of Sunshine is a testament of love, an act of resilience, and great generosity … a poetic work.”
MOHAMED BERKANI, FRANCE INFO

4 stars out of 5
★★★★
“Sixty Kilos of Sunshine has the virtues of a great literary saga, teeming with characters … [a] novel […] like an Icelandic evening when the sun does not want to set … Highly recommended.”
ÉRIC ATTIC, BENZINE MAGAZINE

“Big literature from a small country!”
DENIS SCHECK, DRUCKFRISH, GERMAN LITERARY TV PROGRAMME