“For the last few days the mountain has called to me, or more correctly, summertime on the mountain.”
Thus begins Haraldur’s tale of a summer long ago when he went to Norway to work, intending then to travel around Europe, perhaps further; to have adventures and get to know the world – an emerging poet thirsty for life experience. But he fails to account for love, which changes everything entirely…
Snapshots is a travel story, a romance, and a coming of age novel – what better way to grow up than via exotic places, people, and feelings? Here is simmering humanity and seething youth, larger-than-life characters, entertaining stories, grim fate – Einar Mar Gudmundsson weaves all of this into the magic web of his renowned artistry. The story springs from a fertile world of storytelling; from the same earth as the award-winning classic Angels of the Universe, and the family trilogy Footprints in the Heavens, Dreams on Earth and Nameless Roads. With Snapshots, this world continues to grow.
“One of our great writers.”
Egill Helgason, Kiljan, National TV
“A beautiful love story… a wonderfully written book.”
Kolbrun Bergthorsdottir, Kiljan, National TV
“A very entertaining read … Written in the voice of an older author looking back at his own past and that of others with fondness.”
Sigurður G. Valgeirsson, Kiljan, National TV
“Snapshots is a beautifully realized story that immediately joins the ranks of this reader’s favorite Einar Már tales. The easygoing narration is crafted in a particularly fun manner, with the critical and worldly narrator looking back to an eventful and transformational time in his life, when he set out in search of adventure, laid the groundwork for his writing career, and met a host of interesting people – not to mention “the all-determining love that no one can control, no one but we who know nothing…”
Einar Falur Ingolfsson, Morgunbladid
“It did not entirely suprise me that Einar Mar’s Snapshots would, in some way, become my Snapshots. That was our time, our music, our ideals, our people. It didn’t surprise me either how many good stories he has from those times, stories that elicit memorable images of different people, written with warmth and humanity and an appropriate amount of self-ridicule about our background and struggles. But he did catch me off-guard with the way that he wove all of this into an especially beautiful and personal love story, adding therein a new dimension to his writing and unique literary world.”
Halldor Gudmundsson, writer
“Snapshots‘s narrator decides to become a novelist, and then falls in love in Norway. Such a story seems like it ought to be a happy one, and though the light is dominant, Einar Mar does not avoid the difficult questions. Reading his book was a beautiful journey into times almost half a century ago.”
Tomas R. Einarsson, musician
“Five hearts for an Icelandic master … [Einar Már’s] way with words is such that a single sentence expands towards the infinity of the universe while also condensing its energy like a black hole … ridiculously skilled storyteller.”
Søren Vinterberg, Politiken
[Einar Már] “writes about youth, summer and the north in a way that makes you want to turn your back on ordinary life, pack your bag and make for the mountains.”
Julia, FEMINA
