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Reply to a Letter from Helga Paperback – January 29, 2013

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Bergsveinn Birgisson (Author)
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Bergsveinn Birgisson (Author), Philip Roughton (Translator)
3.9 out of 5 stars 56 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: AmazonCrossing (January 29, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 161218717X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1612187174
  • Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 5.2 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,502,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsA literary novella
By Live2Cruise VINE VOICE on January 26, 2013
Format: Paperback Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
This is a novella that I would consider to be literary fiction; there is a meditative, philosophical, and almost poetic quality to the writing. The translation is excellent and reads like it was originally written in English. The novella is a quick read, but deep and somewhat dark; the narrator is replying to a letter from his love, and themes of loss and regret are prominent.

I would have given this five stars, but for a particular scene toward the end of the novel, which I will not share so as to avoid spoilers. This scene was fairly disgusting and seemed so suddenly thrown in and not in keeping with the narrator's character, that it felt more included for shock value than to further the story, and this was quite off-putting. It was a jarring feeling in the middle of what had been a lyrically written story. Following this, things seemed to get back on track, but it did leave something of a bad taste.

In addition to exploring lost love and "the road not taken," the novella is also an ode to Icelandic literature, with several allusions to epics. In this way it is almost a celebration of Iceland's love of literature and its deep connection to story and legend. Iceland itself comes alive in the pages of the story, sometimes harsh and always beautiful. A short, but gorgeously written read with many layers.
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3.0 out of 5 starsLet us just say...unique...
By An Educated Consumer VINE VOICE on February 14, 2013
Format: Paperback Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
This story is many things: Unique, passionate, selfish, repulsive, honest, and sad, among other things.

Some might say it is a love story...I believe it is a passion story. Bjarni is married to another, as is Helga. Helga has children. Bjarni's position in their very rural farm setting has him interact with Helga.

They lust for one another. Bjarni's passion is even played out as he handles the lambs and strokes them likening their physicality to Helga. Everywhere he looks, the mountains etc. have a passionate connotation...with Helga.

With his passionless marriage and the barrenness of his wife, he is obsessed with Helga.

References to Nordic lore are an interesting side to the tale.

To his commendation, Bjarni appreciates and lauds his simple surroundings but this is what he wants selfishly with Helga.

Passion is strong. Years go by and Bjarni finally replies to Helga's letter.

While the tale definitely has some merit, I was often taken aback and repulsed and could not bring myself to truly care for the main characters. This is my own personal take. There are instances that I would not even care to refer to.

I can understand why others might believe this tale to be likened to an extraordinary foreign film.

For myself...it was ....interesting to say the least.
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3.0 out of 5 starsUnique
By P. Mann VINE VOICE on March 10, 2013
Format: Paperback Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Even after having read this book twice, I'm not sure what to make of it. The premise is straightforward enough. The book is Bjarni's letter to Helga, his true love though both were married to others. Though in the form of a letter, the novella is fairly linear, taking us through the pair's relationship and the lost chances they had.

Bjarni's desire for Helga seems to be equal parts love and lust, and with regard to the latter, the language struck me as somewhat odd. The descriptions of sheep and those of Helga seem uncomfortably close:

About sheep: "Then I turned to their backs and felt down along the loins and then the rump to check for any gauntness"
About Helga: "I'm out in the sheep shed feeding the sheep. Your loins are silhouetted against the hay trough."

(Other comparisons can be more precise but also more graphic.)

To some degree, these comparisons are appropriate. Bjarni is a farmer, and he declines the chance to move with Helga to Reykjavik because, despite his love for her, he cannot leave the farm and retain his identity. So the fact that his love for Helga takes an earthy tone is perfectly natural in some ways and entirely consistent with the story. That said, the book does push the limits, and there is one scene which no doubt will turn off many readers. (Saying more would constitute a spoiler.)

Aside from that, though, the story is alternately lyrical, philosophical, and allusive. A great deal of Icelandic mythology, poetry, and storytelling is alluded to and incorporated into the story. In the end, I found a great deal of power in the novella, from Bjarni's brutal honesty about his thoughts and actions to the interwoven folklore.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsDefines Excellence
By Lazla Toth on February 23, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
The reviews to date describe the book perfectly: beautiful, lyrical, poetic, passionate, honest, sad, etc. I, too, found the book difficult to read, not because of the subject matter, but because of the richness of the prose to the intellect. Birgisson perfectly narrates the feelings of being a fisherman and farmer, the love for land and sea and working. A love so different from the love for another being, yet he intertwines the two magically. The block prints by Kjartan Hallur throughout the book are incredible works of art and challenge the eye with all their hidden images. Overall, just fantastic.

Eagerly awaiting English translations of his other works: Íslendingurinn (The Icelander) and Innrás liljanna (The Invasion of the Lilies), Landslag er aldrei asnalegt (Landscape is Never Stupid) and Handbók um hugarfar kúa (A Handbook on the Attitude of Cows).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsGreat sense of humor

I really enjoyed the humor in this book. Other reviewers thought it was sad, I thought it was very funny. Read more

Published 17 days ago by Solveig Zempel
2.0 out of 5 starsTwo Stars

I didn't finish reading it.

Published 10 months ago by greyound
1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star

Awful. I stopped reading it a third in. Not what I expected at all.

Published 14 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starshauntingly beautiful

My first Icelandic novel, and it was readable yet complex. Gorgeous descriptions of life on a remote farm, of love and pain.

Published 18 months ago by Amy Eilertsen
2.0 out of 5 starsTwo Stars

Not my cup of tea. Confusing and anxious

Published 21 months ago by Corgi lover in NM
4.0 out of 5 starsNot your usual love story

Listened to the audio version of this novella set in Iceland. It is a story of love, lust and loss. Bjarni had an illicit affair with Helga (both married to others at the time of... Read more

Published 21 months ago by Bee
3.0 out of 5 starsVery Interesting...

Insight into one man's life torn between loyalty and passion and fantasy. Illustrations were wonderful. I think it's worth a read.

Published 22 months ago by C. Darling
3.0 out of 5 starsAt Death's Door

When facing the end of his life, an old man feels compelled to declare his loves, with guilt and regrets. He does this with a storytellers' skill. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsAn Epistolary Novella in the Form of a Love Song to Iceland

This novella is essentially a love song -- not to Helga -- but to Iceland, the older, simpler Iceland (pre-WWII). Read more

Published 23 months ago by merry sunshine
5.0 out of 5 starsA True Love Story

I loved this book. It's a love story of realistic conflict and not the happily ever after that is so common place in the romantic genres of today.

Published on February 17, 2014 by Amazon Customer

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