From the Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author: a magnificent novel that recalls Iceland's medieval epics and classics, set in the early twentieth century starring an ordinary sheep farmer and his heroic determination to achieve independence. • "A strange story, vibrant and alive…. There is a rare beauty in its telling." —Atlantic Monthly If Bjartur of Summerhouses, the book's protagonist, is an ordinary sheep farmer, his flinty determination to free himself is genuinely heroic and, at the same time, terrifying and bleakly comic. Having spent eighteen years in humiliating servitude, Bjartur wants nothing more than to raise his flocks unbeholden to any man. But Bjartur's spirited daughter wants to live unbeholden to him. What ensues is a battle of wills that is by turns harsh and touching, elemental in its emotional intensity and intimate in its homely detail. Vast in scope and deeply rewarding, Independent People is a masterpiece.
Brad Leithauser Books
Brad Leithauser is a widely acclaimed poet and novelist. His works are celebrated for their insightful exploration of the human condition and their refined prose. Through both his poetry and fiction, he delves into the intricacies of relationships and the search for meaning in the contemporary world. His writing is valued for its intelligence and emotional resonance.
This work offers a clear and insightful examination of the essential elements of poetry, tracing their use throughout history to create enduring masterpieces. The author, known for their contributions as a poet, novelist, critic, and scholar, delves into the techniques and structures that have shaped poetic expression, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the art form.
Exploring themes of nostalgia, loss, and the passage of time, this poetry collection showcases Brad Leithauser's signature blend of humor and depth. The work unfolds like a five-act play, transitioning from lighthearted verses to poignant reflections on farewells and memories. With a mix of traditional forms and playful wordplay, Leithauser captures moments from childhood to adulthood, revealing a journey through life's complexities. Elegiac yet uplifting, the collection invites readers to find solace and joy amid life's ebbs and flows.
"In this comic novel, our hero, Midwesterner Louie Hake, tries to prop up the failing prospects of happiness in his career and marriage by setting out abroad on what he calls his Journey of a Lifetime. Louie is 43, teaches architecture at a third-rate college in Michigan, and faced with a collapsing second marriage and a potentially disastrous medical diagnosis, he decides to undertake a high-minded tour of the world's most spectacular architecture sites: Italy, Turkey, India, Japan. But Louie gets waylaid--ludicrously, spectacularly so. After a stab at a new romance with a jilted bride alone on her honeymoon in London, he somehow winds up in the high Arctic, where the architectural tradition seems sad and laughable. (Turf houses? Corrugated aluminum sheds?) But it turns out there's another sort of architecture at play here--ice bergs the size of cathedrals--bobbing beside a strange and wondrous landscape. As it slowly grows clear, Louie's Grand Journey is a trip through his much-bungled romantic past. Whether pursuing by email his estranged present wife (co-habiting with a sexy playwright in the Virgin Islands), or his first wife (newly engaged to someone else), or an older woman he kissed once a quarter-century ago, Louie is both ridiculous and touching. A novel that is both funny and moving, a serious look into the Midwestern soul in crisis"-- Provided by publisher