A youthful emissary of the Bishop of Iceland travels to the beautiful and mysterious district of Snaefellsnes, locally known as “Under the Glacier”, to investigate the affairs of the parish and its enigmatic pastor. The story is the young man’s report to the bishop on the extraordinary events taking place at the foot of Snaefells-Glacier. In this strange region all accepted distinctions between past and present, the mundane and the supernatural seem at times to vanish.

A complex biblical allegory with many levels of meaning and hugely intricate and intriguing structure, and as such a unique work in Nordic literature.

“Laxness is the patriarch of European literature.”
DIE WOCHENZEITUNG

“This is a novel of immense charm… It’s a book of ideas, like no other Laxness ever wrote.”
SUSAN SONTAG

“Under the Glacier is hilarious, in a deadpan, northern-edge-of-the-world sort of way.”
ANDREW O‘HEHIR, SALON

“Whimsical… deliriously funny… impishly chaotic.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS

“Under the Glacier is a journey to the center of Laxness’s antic imagination, and it is well worth the trip.”
VINCENT CZYZ, THE ARTS FUSE