I imagine myself shooting through the night on a motorcycle. That I’m driving out of the town and letting myself disappear into the darkness. I’m as good as gone. This is why I went to Spain, to disappear.

It has been raining nonstop for several days when the forest slides down the hillside, setting off a series of events in the life of the landowner and patriarch, Magnus. Shortly afterward the bombs are discovered.

A subtly funny and sometimes ambiguous story about when everyday life is turned on its head and death comes knocking.

REVIEWS

 ★★★★ (four stars out of five possible)
“The forest, both as a physical place and as a symbol for various things, is the main theme of Jonas Reynir’s book, Death of a Forest.  …
The forest is palpable in the book, the forest that was and the forest that will be, the forest that died and the forest that burns, and is intertwined with nearly every word in the novel. It’s a symbol for memories, life and death, and thus it provokes a deep sadness in the reader when a tree falls or dies, just like if it were a person.
… Jonas Reynir’s text has roots that all cross and adjoin, and each fragment of text is connected to another. The flow of the novel is delightful …
It’s hard to put the book down and Jonas Reynir manages to enchant the reader and build anticipation about what happens next.”
RAGNHILDUR THRASTARDOTTIR, MORGUNBLADID DAILY

★★★★ (four stars out of five possible)
“Death of a Forest is an unusual but well-written novel that keeps the reader suspended in uncertainty throughout. Everything falls apart in Magnus’ life because he doesn’t know how to deal with his problems in a healthy way. It is both tragic and sometimes funny to watch events of the poor man’s life unfold but often he only has himself to blame.”
REBEKKA SIF STEFANSDOTTIR, LESTRARKLEFINN BLOG

“The forest is a symbol for everything that goes wrong, its foundations lie of bombs from the Second World War after all … The tone is reminiscent of stories like The Stranger by Camus …
Death of a Forest is also about the grief of the main character, he experiences the loss of the forest and his father almost simultaneously …
a story about grief, the narrative itself is a way of processing the inevitable, it’s like a pact with the impermanence of life, one’s self, one’s loved ones and even the earth itself.”
GAUTI KRISTMANNSSON, VIDSJA, NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICE

“A successful and entertaining novel.”
OTTAR KOLBEINSSON PROPPE, FRETTABLADID DAILY