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.

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.

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.

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.