Jón Kalman Stefánsson

Jón Kalman (2007)

Jón Kalman Stefánsson (born December 17, 1963 in Reykjavík ) is an Icelandic writer .

Life

From 1975 to 1982 Jón Kalman earned his living in a wide variety of jobs, for example in the fishing industry, as a bricklayer and, for a short time, as a policeman at the airport in Keflavík , where he lived until 1986.

From 1986 to 1991 he studied literature at the University of Iceland ( Háskóli Íslands ) without graduating. He taught literature at a school in Akranes for eight years . At the same time he wrote articles and reviews for the newspaper Morgunblaðið as well as for the national radio station Ríkisútvarpið ( RÚV ). Jón Kalman lived in Copenhagen from 1992 to 1995 . He then headed the city library of Mosfellsbær near Reykjavík until 2000 . He has been a freelance writer since then and continues to live in Mosfellsbær.

Works

Novel trilogy

The first novel with which he became known in Germany was called The Summer Behind the Hill (1997). The German version of the novel is actually the first two parts of a trilogy. The plot is told in a very humorous and warm-hearted manner from the perspective of an adolescent boy who, like many Icelandic youths, works in the countryside in the summer and can therefore view the society, which is only partially accessible to him, and its sometimes quite bizarre members from a certain distance. In addition to this common thread, the novel is composed of a large number of individual stories. The author repeatedly reflects on his own writing. It is not without ironic distance that he speaks of the horse of the story, which is about to go through with him (the author as a rider).

The author received the NV Literature Prize for the first part, Gräben im Regen , contained in the German version .

The third part of the novel The Light on the Mountains was published in 1999. It continues the plot of the first two parts. The boy is now almost an adult, and flashbacks are sometimes used to tell from the adult's point of view. On the other hand, there is now a gloomy element in the form of serious illness in the light mood of the first two parts. This novel was also highly praised by the critics.

German translations

• The summer behind the hill ( Skurðir í rigningu , 1996 and Sumarið bakvið Brekkuna , 1997), BLT, Bergisch Gladbach 2001, ISBN 3-40492-071-6 .
• The light on the mountains ( Birtan á fjöllunum , 1999), BLT, Bergisch Gladbach 2003, ISBN 3-40492-138-0 .
• The crackling in the stars ( Snarkið í stjörnunum ), Reclam 2005; ISBN 978-3-15-020169-5 .
• Various things about giant pines and time ( Ýmisleger um risafurur og tímann ), Reclam 2006, ISBN 978-3-15-020164-0 .
• Summer light, and then comes the night , Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-020878-6 .
• Heaven and Hell , from the Icelandic by Karl-Ludwig Wetzig; Reclam, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-15-020879-3 . First part of the novel trilogy.
• The pain of angels , Piper-Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-492-05390-7 (Original: Harmur Englanna ). Second part of the novel trilogy. (see review by Annett Scheffel in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of September 28, 2011, page 16).
• The human heart ( Hjarta mansinns , 2011), Piper-Verlag, 2013; ISBN 978-3-492-05548-2 . Third part of the novel trilogy (Britta Heidemann's review of The Heart of Man : Icelandic Author Jón Kalman Stefánsson ends his trilogy in The West on April 11, 2013)
• Fish have no legs ( Fiskarnir hafa enga fætur , 2013), Piper-Verlag, 2015; ISBN 978-3-492-05689-2 .
• Something about the size of the universe ( Eitthvað á stærð við alheiminn: ættarsaga , 2015), Piper-Verlag, 2017; ISBN 978-3-492-05795-0 .
• Ásta's story ( Saga Ástu , 2017), Piper-Verlag, 2019; ISBN 978-3-492-05937-4 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Jón Kalman Stefánsson in the catalog of the German National Library
• Review of Miscellaneous About Giant Pines and Time
• Bókmenntavefurinn - Jón Kalman Stefánsson ( Memento from February 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .