"The Fish Can Sing" by Halldor Laxness *****

• Nobel Winner
• Icelandic author
• Originally published in Icelandic in 1957
• Opening line:   "A wise man once said that next to losing its mother, there is nothing more healthy for a child than to lose its father."......WOW
• "Parents have even more need of children than children have of parents."
• p.5..."It was odd that I should discover eternity in this way, long before I knew what eternity was, and even before I had learned the proposition that all men are mortal-yes, while I was actually living in eternity myself."
• p.7..."His constant silent presence was in every cranny and corner of Brekkukot - it was like lying snugly at anchor; one;s soul could find in him whatever security it sought."...Alfgrimur about his grandfather, Bjorn...lovely
• p.14 His grandfather held the conviction "that the money which people consider theirs by right was unlawfully accumulated, or counterfeit, if it exceeded the average income of a working man; and therefore that all great wealth was inconsistent with common sense."
• Really chuckled at the jibes about Norwegians and Danes...I have seen these consistently in Icelandic literature
• p.32..."...in Iceland barbed wire became the most desirable luxury commodity in the land for a while, next only to alcohol and cement."...LOLOLOL
• p.42..."...in the darkness the Saviour had bestowed on him,, which neither candlelight, nor oil-lamp, nor the sunrise itself, nor any illumination other than the light of a dauntless heart, could conquer."...lovely
• p.79..."...the  man who makes a pilgrimage on his knees all the way up the mountain, and the man who lives in the gilded palace on the mountain-top are one and the same person."...interesting
• p.82..."The only disgusting work ther is, is badly done work."
• p.104..."Where fish leaves off in Iceland, Latin takes over".
• p.120..."The wave of fame associated with his name was never less likely to burst through our turnstile-gate than when it was beating most strongly against it from outside."
• p.204..."An Iceland paradox:  The fish can sing just like a bird, And grazes on the moorland scree, While cattle in a lowing herd, Roam the rolling sea."
• p.210..."What a man is himself is the one thing he is not.  A man is what other people think he is. Do you imagine that the Emperor of Japan is an emperor, really? No, he's just like every other poor wretch."
• p.246..."And may things go well for you.  May things go for you according to the deserts of all those who have a purpose in life; be it great or small, it doesn't matter, just so long as they are determined not to harm others."....Parting words from Grandfather
• Review:  A brilliantly written coming of age tale set in Iceland, as only Halldor Laxness can tell it.  This is the story of a boy raised by adoptive grandparents who are, frankly, the parents I wish I'd been.  The story isn't a new one.  A boy loses his innocence and his idealism, and then must determine his own way in the world.  There is just something quite precious and profound in the manner this age old process is presented to the reader.  Highly recommend this read!