The Atom Station [Paperback]

Halldor Laxness (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1983

When the Americans make an offer to buy land in Iceland to build a NATO airbase after World War II, a storm of protest is provoked throughout the country. The airbase provides Laxness with the catalyst for his astonishing and powerful satire. Narrated by a country girl from the north, the novel follows her experiences after she takes up employment as a maid in the house of her Member of Parliament. Marvelling at the customs and behaviour of the people around her, she emerges as the one obstinate reality in a world of unreality. Her observations and experiences expose the bourgeois society of the south as rootless and shallow and in stark contrast to the age-old culture of the solid and less fanciful north. A witty and moving satire on politics and politicians, Communists and anti-Communists, phoney culture fiends, big business and all the pretensions of authority, Laxness' masterpiece of social commentary is as relevant today as when it was written in 1948.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Laxness describes the popular reaction to an attempt by the U.S. to buy land for a nuclear base near Reykjavik. Rich, lyrical prose, all expertly interpreted in the translation. Among the many vivid characters, the narrator stands out: her wit, pride, and simplicity bring to mind heroines like Jane Eyre. -- Booklist

Language Notes

Text: English, Icelandic (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Permanent Pr Pub Co (February 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933256310
• ISBN-13: 978-0933256316
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #492,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a stunning story of politics, personal hope, and salvation, September 14, 1998

By 

Dennis Raphael (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Atom Station (Paperback)

In the Atom Station, Halldor Laxness demonstrates the skill and complexity that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The novel tells the story of a simple lass from the north of Iceland who comes face to face with the duplicity of politicians who sell out Icelandic sovereignty for the sake of a nuclear station during the cold war. She also comes to some realizations about herself and the importance of social class and knowledge and how these interact in today's modern world. The novel will be of very special interest to those with some knowledge of Iceland and its history. For those without such knowledge, the novel will compel you to learn more about this fascinating country and its wonderful author laureate, Halldor Laxness.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Clear Light of the Sagas, May 24, 2001

By 

James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Atom Station (Paperback)

For the first two thirds of the book, we are cast headlong into a confused world of materialistic politicians, posturing socialists, and over-precious intellectuals. This mirrors the perplexity that the young Ugla finds when she leaves the North of Iceland to live in Reykjavik as the serving girl to a powerful member of parliament.

I could have laid the book aside, but I had read Laxness before and was curious to see where he would take me. Ugla becomes pregnant and returns to her family in the country to have her child and think things through and, in her words, "to become a person." From crazy Reykjavik, we suddenly find ourselves in the clear light of the great Sagas of the 13th century. Here there are no harsh moral judgments; and even the Lutheran pastor refers to Gunnar of Hlidarendi in NJAL'S SAGA as being on the same plane as the Good Book.

As a hardened Saga fiend, I was enthralled. Here was an Icelander saying that the answer to the topsy turvy world of Cold War Europe was to look at the past and within onseself -- to follow the God who, by definition, was the one left over when all the other ones have been named.

Ugla finds her way in the end -- even if she traced a great circle in the process. Like G K Chesterton, Laxness is a great optimist; and he left this reader with a smile and the resolve to read more of his works.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Postmodern political romp on Iceland, January 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Atom Station (Paperback)

Halldor Laxness, the prodigal son of Icelandic literature, made a distinct stylistic change with this novel, moving from long post-Naturalist tragedies of the outlying regions of Iceland to a fast-paced and often funny romp through Reykavik.

This novel tells the story of the protest surrounding the founding of an American military base in Iceland. The story is told through the eyes of a young, naive servant girl from the country, who, shortly after moving to the city, finds herself surrounded by poets, protesting Socialist students, and Icelandic and American government officials. The girl loses her innocence but gains, not knowledge of the world, but rather entry to the modern world.

Laxness is one of the largely-ignored greats (possibly doomed to obscurity by winning the Nobel prize for literature), and this novel is a fantastic entry into the canon of postmodern literature.