Trilogy:
Footprints on the Heavens, 1997
Dreams on Earth, 2000
Nameless Roads, 2002
This trilogy traces the fortunes and misfortunes of several generations (modelled in part on the author’s own family) from around the turn of the century to the end of the 1930s, with the largest gallery of heroes and rogues ever to come from Gudmundsson’s pen. A unique depiction of life in Iceland in the first half of the twentieth century.
ABOUT BOOK #1:
Gudmundsson’s style and narrative technique have evolved in new directions with Footprints on the Heavens. The lyrical visions and relish of nature and the supernatural are still there, but their earlier baroque exuberance has been finely hewn into almost Biblical archetypes; the characters stand out boldly from their social and physical backgrounds, larger than life but psychologically convincing.
ABOUT BOOK #2:
With Dreams on Earth, Gudmundsson reveals even more of the original perspectives on reality and myth, joy and suffering, pride and humiliation, that have made him one of the most popular and internationally acclaimed Icelandic authors living today. His new book is an independent sequel to Footprints on the Heavens. All the same characters are involved and Gudmundsson bases his story on historical sources interwoven with folklore, lyrical descriptions and flights of fancy, to create a unique depiction of life in Iceland in the first half of the twentieth century.
ABOUT BOOK #3:
Gudmundsson’s style and narrative technique have evolved in new directions with this trilogy. The lyrical visions and relish of nature and the supernatural are still there, but their earlier baroque exuberance has been finely hewn into almost Biblical archetypes; the characters stand out boldly from their social and physical backgrounds, larger than life but psychologically convincing. A unique depiction of
life in Iceland in the first half of the twentieth century.
• Nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize 1997 (Footprints on the Heavens)
• Nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize 2000 (Dreams on Earth)
REVIEWS
“There is no doubt what one can say about Einar Mar Gudmundsson’s way of describing his characters without any unnecessary elements, there lies the novels power, brilliantly written. I take a bow.”
BERLINGSKE TIDENDE, DENMARK
“Although description of poverty and miserable living conditions are oftern grim, this is not a depressing story. The author leavens the tale with lyricism and humor, and the reader´s impressionis that he has grat admiration for the way his characters deal with and overcome adverity, even as he chuckles at their foibles and idiosyncrasies. And he has told the story in excellent, fluid prose, with a great deal of aplomb and polish.
Footprints on the heavens is a book that I think many will read over and over again and still find wholly absorbing.”
WORLD LITERATURE TODAY
“Einar Mar has in writing Footprints on the Heavens and Dreams on Earth hit upon a fertile source … his artistic execution of the subject confirms what most Icelandic readers already knew, that Einar Mar is one of our best contemporary authors and that he knows how to draw from the country’s legacy of tales in a creative and personal manner.”
MORGUNBLADID DAILY
“Dreams on Earth is the second volume in what seems to be turning into one of the best series to emerge in recent Icelandic literature. Einar Mar Gudmundsson’s latest novel is a fitting sequel to Footprints on the Heavens and is, in many ways, even better… The result is a poetic novel of world class.”
DV NEWSPAPER (ON BOOK #2)
“Nameless Roads is the third of Gudmundsson’s series of books about the family of their narrator, Rafn Olafsson. Everything that has already been said about the brilliance of the style, the lyricism of the narrative, and the interweaving of national and personal histories in his previous two books, applies to this volume as well.
…Einar Mar’s novels are historical novels in the best meaning of the term. They reveal characters to us that are both the subject matter of the stories and active participants in them. The book opens with a quotation from Karl Marx: “Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please” These words have never been truer, as Einar Mar’s novels eloquently demonstrate. A lyrical history of the twentieth century written with a sense of perspective, understanding and great talent.””
JON YNGVI JOHANNESSON, DV NEWSPAPER
“… a saga of big events … As in his previous works, Gudmundsson finds play, fantasy and creativity in the cold environment of the city; after all, this is where the dynamism of human life is found.
MORGUNBLADID DAILY
“…his delight in storytelling, which clearly colours all his writing. These words apply to his new novel, in which Einar Mar Gudmundsson may perhaps be said to have polished his style and narrativde technique even further, and developed and evolved his personal method, which was regarded as having achieved a certain sophistication in his last novel, the prize-winning Angels of the Universe. This book will not disappoint Einar Mar Gudmundsson’s readers.”
THROSTUR HELGASON, MORGUNBLADID DAILY (ON BOOK #1)
“…. Gudmundsson is a writer with a rare ability to instill life and depth into characters. … Gudmundsson’s narrative is so seductive that the reading tempo easily accelerates. Dreams on Earth is a major reading experience, which can actually bear comparison with the master Laxness. What is important, though, is to read with reflection.”
CLEMENS ALTGÅRD, SYDSVENSKAN, SWEDEN (ON BOOK #2)
“With supreme elegance Einar Mar Gudmundsson runs his eye over the great variety of destinies. He interprets time and the experiences of individuals with knowledge and sympathy.”
SVENSKA DAGBLADED, SWEDEN (ON BOOK #1)
“Gudmundsson succeeds in what he himself says he wants to do in his diverse works, to narrate, inform and entertain.”
SVEIN JOHS. OTTESEN, AFTENPOSTEN, NORWAY (ON BOOK #1)
