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Heaven and Hell Trilogy book cover 1
Heaven and Hell Trilogy book cover 2
Heaven and Hell Trilogy book cover 3
Heaven and Hell Trilogy
Series · 4 books · 2007-2009

Books in series

Heaven and Hell book cover
#1

Heaven and Hell

2007

In a remote part of Iceland, a young man joins a boat to fish for cod, but when a tragedy occurs at sea he is appalled by his fellow fishermen’s cruel indifference. Lost and broken, he leaves the settlement in secret, his only purpose to return a book to a blind old sea captain beyond the mountains. Once in the town he finds that he is not alone in his solitude: welcomed into a warm circle of outcasts, he begins to see the world with new eyes. Heaven and Hell navigates the depths of despair to celebrate the redemptive power of friendship. Set at the turn of the twentieth century, it is a reading experience as intense as the forces of the Icelandic landscape themselves.
The Sorrow of Angels book cover
#2

The Sorrow of Angels

2009

It is three weeks since the boy came to town, carrying a book of poetry to return to the old sea captain – the poetry that did for his friend Bárður. Three weeks, but already Bárður’s ghost has faded. Snow falls so heavily that it binds heaven and earth together. As the villagers gather in the inn to drink schnapps and coffee while the boy reads to them from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Jens the postman stumbles in half dead, having almost frozen to his horse. On his next journey to the wide open fjords he is accompanied by the boy, and both must risk their lives for each other, and for an unusual item of mail. The Sorrow of Angels is a timeless literary masterpiece; in extraordinarily powerful language it brings the struggle between man and nature tangibly to life. It is the second novel in Stefánsson’s epic and elemental trilogy, though all can be read independently.
The Heart of Man book cover
#3

The Heart of Man

2009

After coming through the blizzard that almost cost them everything, Jens and the boy are far from home, in a fishing community at the edge of the world. Taken in by the village doctor, the boy (once again) has the sense of being brought back from the grave. But this is a strange place, with otherworldly inhabitants, including flame haired Alfheidhur, who makes him wonder whether it is possible to love two women at once; he had believed his heart was lost to Ragnheidur, the daughter of the wealthy merchant in the village, to which he must now inexorably return. Set in the awe-inspiring wilderness of the extreme north of Iceland, The Heart of Man is a profound exploration of life, love and desire, written with a sublime simplicity. In this conclusion to an audacious trilogy, Jón Kalman Stefánsson brings a poet's eye and a philosopher's insight to a tale worthy of the sagasmiths of old.
Hemel en hel / Het verdriet van de engelen / Het hart van de mens book cover
#1-3

Hemel en hel / Het verdriet van de engelen / Het hart van de mens

2007

Nu in één band: de drie prachtige romans van de IJslandse Jón Kalman Stéfansson over de naamloze jongen: Hemel en hel, Het verdriet van de engelen en Het hart van de mens. Twee vrienden, Bardur en de jongen, gaan vissen op zee. Wanneer ze worden overvallen door een storm raakt Bardur onderkoeld en sterft. Op zoek naar een manier om dit verlies te verwerken besluit de jongen op reis te gaan. Wanneer hij na vele omzwervingen weer terugkeert in het dorp, merkt hij dat hij is veranderd. Hij laat zich niet meer zo door anderen leiden, neemt zijn eigen beslissingen en is vastbesloten te kiezen voor de liefde. Jón Kalman Stefánsson is een van de grootste schrijvers van deze tijd. Hij won de IJslandse literatuurprijs en de Per Olov Enquistprijs. Hij werd genomineerd voor de Nordic Council Literature Prize.

Author

Jon Kalman Stefansson
Jon Kalman Stefansson
Author · 18 books

Jón moved to Keflavík when he was 12 and returned to Reykjavík in 1986 with his highschool diploma. From 1975 – 1982 he spent a good deal of his time in West Iceland, where he did various jobs: worked in a slaughterhouse, in the fishing industry, doing masonry and for one summer as a police officer at Keflavík International Airport. Jón Kalman studied literature at the University of Iceland from 1986 until 1991 but did not finish his degree. He taught literature at two highschools for a period of time and wrote articles and criticism for Morgunblaðið newspaper for a number of years. Jón lived in Copenhagen from 1992 – 1995, reading, washing floors and counting buses. He worked as a librarian at the Mosfellsbær Library near Reykjavík until the year 2000. Since then he has been a full time writer. His first published work, the poetry collection, Með byssuleyfi á eilífðina, came out in 1988. He has published two other collections of poetry and a number of novels. His novel Sumarljós, og svo kemur nóttin (Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night) won The Icelandic Literature Prize in 2005. Three of his books have also been nominated for The Nordic Council's Literature Prize. He was the recipient of the Per Olov Enquists Prize for 2011, awarded at the book fair in Gautaborg in September 2011.

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