Paradise found again
Paradise found again (Icelandic original title: Paradísarheimt ) is a novel by Halldór Laxness (1902-1998), which was published in 1960.
shape
The novel consists of 30 chapters with headings. The original edition has 301 pages.
content
The book takes place from 1874 to around 1880. The proud, simple farmer Steinar lives on his farm in Leiten in eastern Iceland with his wife and two children. The stone walls around the courtyard have been tended for several generations so that they serve as a model in the area. Steinar owns a particularly beautiful horse, which is coveted by the rich businessman Björn on Leirur, but which he gave to the Danish King Christian IX. on the occasion of his visit to Iceland. During this visit he met the Mormon Bishop Didrik, who was persecuted by the Icelanders and whom he helped. Steinar is invited to the court of the Danish king in Copenhagen and leaves his family for it. In Copenhagen he meets Didrik again, who persuades him to move to the "Promised Land" in Utah in the USA , where the Mormons live by their rules. Steinar becomes a Mormon and spends several years there under the name Stone P. Stanford. Meanwhile, Björn's underage daughter on Leirur is pregnant. The daughter refuses an arranged wedding with a young man. The courtyard and the stone walls are falling into disrepair, the family has to leave the courtyard impoverished. After several years, Didrik visits the family and takes them to Utah. Steinar's wife dies while crossing the Atlantic; his children and grandchild arrive in Utah. Steinar sets out for Iceland to do missionary work there. He also comes to his old farm. When he realizes that the walls have been destroyed, he begins to repair them.
background
The visit of King Christian IX. in Iceland took place in 1874. It was then that Iceland, which was part of the Kingdom of Denmark, was given a constitution .
Icelandic and German first editions
- Paradise home. Helgafell, Reykjavík 1960
- Paradise found again. Translated by Bruno Kress . Aufbau Verlag, Berlin and Weimar 1971 and Bucher, Lucerne 1971.
Film adaptations
In 1980, based on the novel, the three-part NDR television film The Paradise Found again was released. Directed by Rolf Hädrich . The Torfhof , which was built as a backdrop, can still be seen today from the ring road west of Eystrahorn in front of an imposing rock face.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paradísarheimt at googlebooks , accessed on April 30, 2012
- ↑ imdb data page , accessed April 30, 2012