View source for Halldór Laxness

{{Short description|Icelandic author (1902-1998)}}
{{Redirect|Laxness|the concept in phonetics|Laxness (phonetics)|the crater on Mercury|Laxness (crater)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| awards           = {{no wrap|[[Nobel Prize in Literature]] (1955)}}
| image            = Halldór Kiljan Laxness 1955.jpg
| caption          = Laxness in 1955
| birth_name       = Halldór Guðjónsson
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1902|4|23|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Reykjavík]], [[History of Iceland|Danish Iceland]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1998|2|8|1902|4|23|df=y}}
| death_place      = Reykjavík, [[Iceland]]
| nationality      = [[Icelandic people|Icelandic]]
| spouses          = {{marriage|Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir|1930|1940}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://icelandreview.com/news/2011/10/28/halldor-laxnesss-love-letters-published |magazine=Iceland Review |title=Halldór Laxness love letters published |date=28 October 2011 |access-date=24 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301134745/http://icelandreview.com/news/2011/10/28/halldor-laxnesss-love-letters-published |archive-date=1 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><br>{{marriage|Auður Sveinsdóttir|1945|1998}}
}}

'''Halldór Kiljan Laxness''' ({{IPA|is|ˈhaltour ˈcʰɪljan ˈlaksnɛs|lang|Is-Halldor kiljan laxness.oga}}; born '''Halldór Guðjónsson'''; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer and winner of the [[1955 Nobel Prize in Literature]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-30-countries-with-nobel-prize-winners.html|title = Nobel Prize Winners by Country|date = 23 October 2019}}</ref> He wrote novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and short stories. Writers who influenced Laxness include [[August Strindberg]], [[Sigmund Freud]], [[Knut Hamsun]], [[Sinclair Lewis]], [[Upton Sinclair]], [[Bertolt Brecht]], and [[Ernest Hemingway]].<ref>Guðmundsson, Halldór, ''The Islander: a Biography of Halldór Laxness''. McLehose Press/Quercus, London, translated by Philip Roughton, 2008, pp. 49, 117, 149, 238, 294</ref>

==Life==
===Early life===
Halldór Guðjónsson was born in [[Reykjavík]] in 1902. When he was three, his family moved to the Laxnes farm in [[Mosfellsbær|Mosfellssveit]] parish.<ref>Hallberg, Peter, ''Halldór Laxness'', Twayne Publishers, New York, 1971, p. 11</ref> He was brought up and enormously influenced by his grandmother, who "sang me ancient songs before I could talk, told me stories from heathen times and sang me cradle songs from the Catholic era".<ref>Laxness, Halldór, ''Heiman eg for'', (Helgafell, Reykjavík, 1952), pp. 20–24</ref> He started to read books and write stories at an early age and attended the technical school in Reykjavík from 1915 to 1916. His earliest published writings appeared in 1916 in ''Morgunblaðið'' and in the children's periodical ''Æskan.''<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Kress |first1=Helga |last2=Tartt |first2=Alison |date=2004 |editor-last=Stevens |editor-first=Patrick J. |title=Halldór Laxness (23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) |journal=Dictionary of Literary Biography}}</ref> The same year, two letters-to-the-editor Halldór wrote also appeared in the North American-Icelandic children's newspapers ''Sólskin'', which was published in Winnipeg, Manitoba.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crocker |first=Christopher |title=The Sunshine Children |publisher=Hin kindin |year=2023 |isbn=9789935916556 |location=Reykjavík}}</ref> Laxness then attended and in 1918 graduated from the Reykjavík Lyceum.<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 23</ref> By the time his first novel, ''Barn náttúrunnar'' (''Child of Nature'', 1919), was published he had already begun his travels on the European continent.<ref>Guðmundsson, pp. 33–34</ref>

===1920s===
In 1922, Halldór moved into and considered joining the [[Clervaux Abbey|Abbaye Saint-Maurice et Saint-Maur]] in [[Clervaux]], [[Luxembourg]], where the [[Benedictine Order|monks]] followed the rules of [[Saint Benedict of Nursia]]. In 1923 he was baptized and confirmed in the [[Catholic Church]], adopting the surname Laxness after the homestead on which he was raised and adding the name Kiljan (the Icelandic name of [[Ireland|Irish]] martyr [[Saint Killian]]); Laxness practiced self-study, read books, and studied [[French language|French]], [[Latin]], [[theology]] and [[philosophy]].<ref>Hallberg, p. 32</ref> He became a member of a group that prayed for reversion of the [[Nordic countries]] to Catholicism. Laxness wrote of his experiences in the essay ''Kaþólsk viðhorf'' (1925) and published (in fragmentary form) the novel ''Undir Helgahnúk'' (1924, revised 1967).<ref>Hallberg, p.35</ref> In 1927, he published ''[[Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír]]'', a novel about a young man's conflicts with religion and identity in his quest to become "the most perfect person in the world".<ref>Hallberg, p. 37</ref> Icelandic critic [[:is:Kristján Albertsson|Kristján Albertsson]] wrote of it: 
<blockquote>Finally, finally, a grand novel which towers like a cliff above the flatland of contemporary Icelandic poetry and fiction! Iceland has gained a new literary giant—it is our duty to celebrate the fact with joy!<ref>Albertsson, Krístian, ''Vaka'' 1.3, 1927</ref></blockquote> 
Laxness's religious period did not last long. He lived in the [[United States]] from 1927 to 1929, giving lectures on Iceland and attempting to write screenplays for [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood films]].<ref>Einarsson, Stefán, ''A History of Icelandic Literature'', New York: Johns Hopkins for the American Scandinavian Foundation, 1957, p. 317 OCLC 264046441</ref> During this time he became attracted to [[socialism]]:

<blockquote>[Laxness] did not become a socialist in America from studying manuals of socialism but from watching the starving unemployed in the parks.<ref>{{Nobelprize}}</ref><ref>Laxness, Halldór,''Alþýðubókin'', Þriðja útgáfa (3rd edition), (Reykjavík, 1949), p. 9</ref>

Laxness joined the socialist bandwagon… with a book ''Alþýðubókin'' (''The Book of the People'', 1929) of brilliant burlesque and satirical essays<ref>Einarsson, p. 292 {{OCLC|264046441}}</ref>

Beside the fundamental idea of socialism, the strong sense of Icelandic individuality is also the sustaining element in ''Alþýðubókin''. The two elements are entwined together in characteristic fashion and in their very union give the work its individual character.<ref>Hallberg, p. 60</ref></blockquote>

In 1929 Laxness published an article critical of the U.S. in ''[[Lögberg-Heimskringla|Heimskringla]]'', a Canadian newspaper. This resulted in charges against him, his detention, and the forfeiture of his passport. With the aid of [[Upton Sinclair]] and the [[ACLU]], the charges were dropped and Laxness returned to Iceland.<ref>Guðmundsson, pp. 150–151</ref>

===1930s===
By the 1930s Laxness "had become the apostle of the younger generation" of Icelandic writers.<ref>Einarsson, pp. 263–4</ref>
<blockquote>''Salka Valka'' (1931–32) began the great series of sociological novels, often coloured with socialist ideas, continuing almost without a break for nearly twenty years. This was probably the most brilliant period of his career, and it is the one which produced those of his works that have become most famous. But Laxness never attached himself permanently to a particular dogma.<ref name=r1>Sveinn Hoskuldsson, "Scandinavica", 1972 supplement, pp. 1–2</ref></blockquote> In addition to the two parts of ''Salka Valka'', Laxness published ''Fótatak manna'' (''Steps of Men'') in 1933, a collection of short stories, as well as other essays, notably ''Dagleið á fjöllum'' (''A Day's Journey in the Mountains'') in 1937.<ref>Hallberg, p. 211</ref>

Laxness's next novel was ''Sjálfstætt fólk ([[Independent People]])'' (1934 and 1935), which has been called "one of the best books of the twentieth century."<ref>Smiley, Jane, ''Independent People'', Vintage International, 1997, cover</ref>

When ''Salka Valka'' was published in English in 1936 a reviewer at the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' wrote: "No beauty is allowed to exist as ornamentation in its own right in these pages; but the work is replete from cover to cover with the beauty of its perfection."<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 229</ref>

In 1937 Laxness wrote the poem ''Maístjarnan'' (''The May Star''), which was set to music by Jón Ásgeirsson and became a socialist anthem.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://luijten.org/ijsland/2007/05/25/maistjarnan.html|title = Maístjarnan| date=25 May 2007 }}</ref>

This was followed by the four-part novel ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'', 1937, 1938, 1939, and 1940), which is loosely based on the life of Magnús Hjaltason Magnusson, a minor Icelandic poet of the late 19th century.<ref>Hallberg, p.125</ref> It has been "consistently regarded by many critics as his most important work."<ref>Magnusson, Magnus, ''World Light'', University of Wisconsin Press, 1969, p. viii</ref>

Laxness also traveled to the [[Soviet Union]] in 1938 and wrote approvingly of the Soviet system and culture.<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 182</ref> He was present at the "[[Case of the Anti-Soviet "Bloc of Rightists and Trotskyites"|Trial of the Twenty-one]]" and wrote about it in detail in his book ''Gerska ævintýrið'' (''The Russian Adventure'').<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 265</ref>

In the late 1930s Laxness developed a unique spelling system that was closer to pronunciation than standard Icelandic. This characteristic of his writing is lost in translation.<ref>Kress, p. 73</ref>

===1940s===
In 1941 Laxness translated Hemingway's ''[[A Farewell to Arms]]'' into Icelandic, which caused controversy because of his use of [[neologisms]].<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 279</ref> He continued to court controversy over the next few years through the publication of new editions of several [[Saga|Icelandic sagas]] using [[modern Icelandic]] rather than the [[Old Norse orthography]] that had become customary. Laxness and his publishing partners were taken to court after the publication of his edition of ''[[Hrafnkels saga]]'' in 1942. They were found guilty of violating a recent copyright law, but eventually acquitted when the copyright law was deemed a violation of the freedom of the press.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Helgason|first=Jón Karl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KroOyT5QHZgC&q=jon+karl+helgason|title=The Rewriting of Njáls Saga: Translation, Ideology, and Icelandic Sagas|date=1999-01-01|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=978-1-85359-457-1|pages=121–136|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Crocker|first=Christopher|title=Guardian of Memory: Halldór Laxness, Saga Editor|journal=Scandinavian-Canadian Studies|year=2019|volume=26|pages=110–131|doi=10.29173/scancan165|s2cid=208366559|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Laxness's "epic"<ref>Leithauser, Brad, ''The New York Times'', 15 February 2004</ref> three-part work of historical fiction, ''[[Iceland's Bell (novel)|Íslandsklukkan]]'' (''[[Iceland's Bell (novel)|Iceland's Bell]]''), was published between 1943 and 1946. It has been described as a novel of broad "geographical and political scope… expressly concerned with national identity and the role literature plays in forming it… a tale of colonial exploitation and the obdurate will of a suffering people."<ref>Haslett, Adam, introduction to Iceland's Bell, Vintage International, 2003, p.viii.</ref> "Laxness’s three-volume ''Íslandsklukkan'' … is probably the most significant [Icelandic] novel of the 1940s."<ref>Neijmann, Daisy, ''A History of Icelandic Literature'', University of Nebraska Press, 2006, p. 404</ref>

In 1946 the English translation of ''Independent People'' was published as a [[Book of the Month Club]] selection in the U.S. and sold over 450,000 copies.<ref>Lemoine, Chay (9 February 2007) [https://grapevine.is/mag/feature/2007/02/09/halldor-laxness-and-the-cia/].</ref>

In 1945 Halldór and his second wife, Auður Sveinsdóttir, moved into Gljúfrasteinn, a new house built in the countryside near Mosfellsbær, where they started a family. In addition to her domestic duties, Auður assumed the roles of personal secretary and business manager.

In response to the establishment of a permanent U.S. military base in [[Keflavík]], Halldór wrote the satire ''Atómstöðin'' (''[[The Atom Station]]''), which may have contributed to a [[blacklisting]] of his novels in the U.S.<ref>Lemoine, Chay (18 November 2010). [http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010/11/18/the-view-from-here-no-8/#more-19435 The View from Here, No. 8]. icenews.is</ref><blockquote>The demoralization of the occupation period is described ... nowhere as dramatically as in Halldór Kiljan Laxness' ''Atómstöðin'' (1948)... [where he portrays] postwar society in Reykjavík, completely torn from its moorings by the avalanche of foreign gold.<ref>Einarsson, p. 330</ref></blockquote>
For its examination of modern Reykjavík, many critics and readers consider ''Atómstöðin'' the exemplary "Reykjavík Novel."<ref>Neijmann, p. 411</ref>

===1950s===
[[File:Laxness portrett einar hakonarson 1984.jpg|thumb|right|Halldór Laxness by [[Einar Hákonarson]], 1984]]

In 1952 Laxness published ''Gerpla'' (''The Happy Warriors'', ''Wayward Heroes'') a novel based on the ''[[Fóstbrœðra saga|Fóstbræðra saga]]''. It deals with Vikings of around the year 1000.<ref>Hallberg, p. 165</ref>

   <blockquote>As a work of art ''Gerpla'' is an unusually powerful achievement. Laxness has not transposed his subject into a modern key; he has chosen to preserve a close link to the style of the ancient sagas.<ref>Hallberg, p. 179</ref></blockquote>

Laxness was awarded the Soviet-sponsored [[World Peace Council prizes|World Peace Council]] literary prize in 1952.<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 340</ref> <blockquote>[Laxness] ...was a mediator between the cultural figures of the USSR and Iceland, even in times when relations between Moscow and Reykjavik were in deep crisis due to the Cold War. The active position of the writer and his activities as chairman of The Society for Cultural Relations between Iceland and the Soviet Union (MÍR) significantly contributed to the development of the bilateral relations between the Soviet Union and Iceland.<ref>Pankov, Evgeni, ''Halldór Laxness and Soviet-Icelandic Relations in the 1940–1960s'' (April 22, 2025). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5232647</ref></blockquote>

A Swedish film adaptation of his novel ''[[Salka Valka]]'', directed by [[Arne Mattsson]] and filmed by [[Sven Nykvist]], was released in 1954.<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 351</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047442/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 | title=Salka Valka | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>

In 1955 Laxness was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] "for his vivid epic power, which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland".<ref name="Literature1955">{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1955/index.html|title=Nobel Prize in Literature 1955|publisher=Nobel Foundation}}</ref><ref>Pankov, Evgeni, ''Halldór Laxness and Soviet-Icelandic Relations in the 1940–1960s'' (April 22, 2025). https://ssrn.com/abstract=5232647</ref>

<blockquote>His chief literary works belong to the genre… [of] narrative prose fiction. In the history of our literature Laxness is mentioned beside [[Snorri Sturluson]], the author of "[[Njáls saga|Njals saga]]", and his place in world literature is among writers such as Cervantes, Zola, Tolstoy, and Hamsun… He is the most prolific and skillful essayist in Icelandic literature both old and new…<ref name=r1/></blockquote>

In the presentation address for the Nobel, [[Elias Wessén]] said:<blockquote>He is an excellent painter of Icelandic scenery and settings. Yet this is not what he has conceived of as his chief mission. "Compassion is the source of the highest poetry. Compassion with Asta Sollilja on earth," he says in one of his best books… And a social passion underlies everything Halldór Laxness has written. His personal championship of contemporary social and political questions is always very strong, sometimes so strong that it threatens to hamper the artistic side of his work. His safeguard then is the astringent humour which enables him to see even people he dislikes in a redeeming light, and which also permits him to gaze far down into the labyrinths of the human soul.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1955 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1955/ceremony-speech/ |website=NobelPrize.org |access-date=21 October 2018 |ref=Nobel55}}</ref></blockquote>

In his acceptance speech, Laxness said:<blockquote>… the moral principles [my grandmother] instilled in me: never to harm a living creature; throughout my life, to place the poor, the humble, the meek of this world above all others; never to forget those who were slighted or neglected or who had suffered injustice, because it was they who, above all others, deserved our love and respect…<ref>acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, 1955</ref>

But if an Icelandic writer forgets his origins in the depths of the nation where the story lives; if he forgets his relationship and duty to the life that is hard-pressed, the life that my old grandmother taught me to revere in my heart and mind — then fame is of little worth; along with happiness that is gained from wealth.<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 368</ref></blockquote>
Laxness grew increasingly disenchanted with the Soviet bloc after the suppression of the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]].<ref>Guðmundsson, p. 375</ref>

In 1957 Halldór and his wife went on a world tour, stopping in New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago, Madison, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Peking (Beijing), Bombay (Mumbai), Cairo, and Rome. "In these and other countries he was able to appear as kind of a cultural ambassador for Iceland."<ref>Guðmundsson, pp. 380–384</ref><ref>Hallberg, p. 181</ref>

Other major accomplishments in this decade were ''Brekkukotsannáll'', (''[[The Fish Can Sing]]'', 1957), and  ''Paradísarheimt'', (''Paradise Reclaimed'', 1960).<ref>Hallberg, p.180</ref>

===Later years===
In the 1960s Laxness was very active in Icelandic theater. He wrote and produced plays, the most successful of which was ''The Pigeon Banquet'' (''Dúfnaveislan'', 1966).<ref>Magnússon, Sigurður (ed.),''Modern Nordic Plays, Iceland'', p. 23, Twayne: New York, 1973</ref>

In 1968 Laxness published the "visionary novel"<ref>Sontag, Susan, ''At the Same Time'', p. 100, Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2007</ref> ''Kristnihald undir Jökli'' (''Under the Glacier / Christianity at the Glacier'').

Laxness was awarded the [[Sonning Prize]] in 1969.

In 1970 Laxness published an influential ecological essay, ''Hernaðurinn gegn landinu'' (''The War Against the Land'').<ref>Henning, Reinhard, Phd. paper ''Umwelt-engagierte Literatur aus Island und Norwegen'', University of Bonn, 2014</ref> In the 1970s he published what he called "essay novels": ''Innansveitarkronika'' (''A Parish Chronicle'', 1970) and ''Guðsgjafaþula'' (''A Narration of God's Gifts'', 1972). Neither has been translated into English.<ref>Guðmundsson, Halldór, ''Scandinavica'', vol. 42, no. 1, pg 43</ref> Laxness continued to write essays and memoirs into the 1980s. As he grew older he began to suffer from [[Alzheimer's disease]] and eventually moved into a nursing home, where he died on 8 February 1998, at the age of 95.<ref>Guðmundsson, P. 466</ref>

==Family and legacy==
In 1922, Laxness met Málfríður Jónsdóttir (29 August 1896 – 7 November 2003),<ref>[https://timarit.is/page/3484269?iabr=on#page/n21/mode/1up ''Málfríður Jónsdóttir (minningargrein)''], Morgunblaðið, via Timarit.is, 17 November 2003, page 22 (in icelandic)</ref> who gave birth to his first daughter, María, on 10 April 1923.<ref>[https://timarit.is/page/6757041?iabr=on#page/n75/mode/1up ''María Halldórsdóttir (minningargrein)''], Morgunblaðið, via Timarit.is, 31 March 2016, page 76 (in icelandic)</ref>

In 1930, he married Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir (3 May 1908 – 22 January 1994),<ref>[https://timarit.is/page/1800431?iabr=on#page/n31/mode/1up ''Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir - Minning''], Morgunblaðið, via Tímarit.is, 2 February 1994, page 32 (in icelandic)</ref> who gave birth to his son Einar on 9 August 1931.<ref>[https://timarit.is/page/6772911?iabr=on#page/n21/mode/2up ''Einar Laxness (minningargrein)''], Morgunblaðið, via Tímarit.is, 2 June 2016, page 22-23 (in Icelandic)</ref> In 1940 they divorced.

In 1939, he met [[Auður Laxness|Auður Sveinsdóttir]] (30 June 1918 – 29 October 2012)<ref>[https://timarit.is/page/6032034?iabr=on#page/n26/mode/2up ''Auður Sveinsdóttir''], Morgunblaðið, via Timarit.is, 7 November 2012, page 26-27 (in Icelandic)</ref> at Laugavatn. Auður waited for Laxness and made sacrifices so he could focus on his work.<ref>Guðmundsson (2004): 439–440.</ref><ref>Guðmundsson page 501.</ref> They married in 1945 and moved into their home, Gljúfrasteinn, in Mosfellsbær later that year.<ref>Guðmundsson, pp. 70, 138, 176, 335, 348, 380</ref> Auður and Halldór had two daughters: Sigríður, born 26 May 1951, and [[Guðný Halldórsdóttir|Guðný]], born 23 May 1954.<ref>Guðmundsson: 557–578.</ref>

His daughter Guðný Halldórsdóttir is a filmmaker whose first work was [[Under the Glacier|the 1989 adaptation]] of ''Kristnihald undir jōkli'' (''Under the Glacier'').<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137891/ Under the Glacier (1989) ]. imdb.com</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Brandsma |first1=Elliott |title=Exploring the Legacy of Halldór Laxness: Contemporary English-language Perspectives on Iceland's Greatest Twentieth-Century Writer |url=https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/24808/1/MAThesisPDFSkemman2.pdf |website=Skemman.is |publisher=University of Iceland |access-date=15 September 2021}}</ref> In 1999 her adaptation of Laxness's story ''Úngfrúin góða og Húsið'' (''[[The Honour of the House]]'') was submitted for consideration for the [[Academy Award]] for Best Foreign Film.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0173387/ The Honour of the House (1999)]. imdb.com</ref> Guðný's son, [[Halldór Laxness Halldórsson]], is a writer, actor, and poet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/02/cuckold-movie-dori-dna-polarama-productions-iceland-1202863030/|title = Polarama Productions Takes Film Rights to 'Cuckold' from Iceland's Dori DNA|date = 19 February 2020}}</ref> A grandchild, [[Auður Jónsdóttir]], is an author and playwright. [[Gljúfrasteinn]] (Laxness's house, grounds, and personal effects) is now a museum operated by the [[government of Iceland]].<ref>[http://www.gljufrasteinn.is/en/about_gljufrasteinn/ About Gljúfrasteinn – EN – Gljúfrasteinn]. Gljufrasteinn.is. Retrieved on 29 July 2012</ref>

In the 21st century, interest in Laxness in English-speaking countries increased after several of his novels were reissued and the first English-language publications of ''Iceland's Bell'' (2003) and ''The Great Weaver from Kashmir'' (2008).<ref>Holm, Bill, [https://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-ca-halldor-laxness23-2008nov23,0,7491955.story The man who brought Iceland in from the cold – Los Angeles Times]. Latimes.com (23 November 2008). Retrieved on 29 July 2012</ref> In 2016 a new English-language translation of ''Gerpla'' was published as ''Wayward Heroes''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archipelagobooks.org/book/wayward-heroes/|title = Wayward Heroes by Halldór Laxness}}</ref> A new English-language translation of ''Salka Valka'' was released in 2022 to widespread acclaim.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Review {{!}} From Iceland, a Nobel winner's rediscovered masterpiece |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/06/06/jane-smiley-iceland-novel/ |access-date=2023-03-14 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leithauser |first=Brad |title='Salka Valka' Review: A Hard-Working Heroine of Iceland |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/salka-valka-review-a-hard-working-heroine-of-iceland-halldor-laxness-11646407911 |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Margalit |first=Ruth |title=Village People {{!}} Ruth Margalit |language=en |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/11/24/village-people-salka-valka-halldor-laxness/ |access-date=2023-03-14 |issn=0028-7504}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-12-28 |title=The Faith of Halldór Laxness |language=en-US |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/halldor-laxness-salka-valka/ |access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref>

[[Halldór Guðmundsson]]'s book ''The Islander: A Biography of Halldór Laxness'' won the [[Icelandic Literary Prize]] for best work of nonfiction in 2004.

Numerous dramatic adaptations of Laxness's work have been staged in Iceland. In 2005 the Icelandic National Theatre premiered a play by [[Ólafur Haukur Símonarson]], ''Halldór í Hollywood'' (''Halldór in Hollywood''), about Laxness's time in the United States in the 1920s.

A biennial Halldór Laxness International Literary Prize is awarded at the Reykjavík International Literary Festival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ruv.is/frett/althjodleg-verdlaun-kennd-vid-halldor-laxness|title = Alþjóðleg verðlaun kennd við Halldór Laxness|date = 8 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bokmenntahatid.is/en/|title=Reykjavík International Literary Festival}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Novels===
* 1919: ''Barn náttúrunnar'' (''Child of Nature'')
* 1924: ''Undir Helgahnúk'' (''Under the Holy Mountain'')
* 1927: ''Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír'' (''[[The Great Weaver from Kashmir]]'')
* 1931: ''Þú vínviður hreini'' (''O Thou Pure Vine'') – Part I of ''Salka Valka''
* 1932: ''Fuglinn í fjörunni'' (''The Bird on the Beach'') – Part II of ''Salka Valka''
* 1933: ''Úngfrúin góða og Húsið'' (''The Honour of the House''), as part of ''Fótatak manna: sjö þættir''
* 1934: ''Sjálfstætt fólk'' — Part I, ''Landnámsmaður Íslands'' (''Icelandic Pioneers''),  ''[[Independent People]]''
* 1935: ''Sjálfstætt fólk'' – Part II, ''Erfiðir tímar'' (''Hard Times''), ''Independent People'' 
* 1937: ''Ljós heimsins'' (''The Light of the World'') – Part I of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'')
* 1938: ''Höll sumarlandsins'' (''The Palace of the Summerland'') – Part II of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'')
* 1939: ''Hús skáldsins'' (''The Poet's House'') – Part III of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'')
* 1940: ''Fegurð himinsins'' (''The Beauty of the Skies'') – Part IV of ''Heimsljós'' (''World Light'')
* 1943: ''Íslandsklukkan'' ''(Iceland's Bell)'' – Part I of ''Íslandsklukkan'' (''[[Iceland's Bell (novel)|Iceland's Bell]]'')
* 1944: ''Hið ljósa man'' (''The Bright Maiden'') – Part II of  ''Íslandsklukkan'' (''Iceland's Bell'')
* 1946: ''Eldur í Kaupinhafn'' (''Fire in Copenhagen'') – Part III of ''Íslandsklukkan'' (''Iceland's Bell'')
* 1948: ''Atómstöðin'' (''[[The Atom Station]]'')
* 1952: ''Gerpla'' (''The Happy Warriors'' (1958) / ''Wayward Heroes'' (2016))
* 1957: ''Brekkukotsannáll'' (''[[The Fish Can Sing]]'')
* 1960: ''Paradísarheimt'' (''Paradise Reclaimed'')
* 1968: ''Kristnihald undir Jökli'' (''Under the Glacier / Christianity at the Glacier'')
* 1970: ''Innansveitarkronika'' (''A Parish Chronicle'')
* 1972: ''Guðsgjafaþula'' (''A Narration of God's Gifts'')

===Stories===
* 1923: ''Nokkrar sögur''
* 1933: ''Fótatak manna''
* 1935: ''Þórður gamli halti''
* 1942: ''Sjö töframenn''
* 1954: ''Þættir'' (collection)
* 1964: ''Sjöstafakverið''
* 1981: ''Við Heygarðshornið''
* 1987: ''Sagan af brauðinu dýra''
* 1992: ''Jón í Brauðhúsum''
* 1996: ''Fugl á garðstaurnum og fleiri smásögur''
* 1999: ''Úngfrúin góða og Húsið''
* 2000: ''Smásögur''
* 2001: ''Kórvilla á Vestfjörðum og fleiri sögur''

===Plays===
* 1934: ''Straumrof''
* 1950: ''Snæfríður Íslandssól'' (from the novel ''[[Iceland's Bell (novel)|Íslandsklukkan]]'')
* 1954: ''Silfurtúnglið''
* 1961: ''Strompleikurinn''
* 1962: ''Prjónastofan Sólin''
* 1966: ''Dúfnaveislan''
* 1970: ''Úa'' (from the novel ''Kristnihald undir Jökli'')
* 1972: ''Norðanstúlkan'' (from the novel ''[[Atómstöðin]]'')

===Poetry===
* 1925: ''Únglíngurinn í skóginum''
* 1930: ''Kvæðakver''

===Travelogues and essays===
* 1925: ''Kaþólsk viðhorf'' (''Catholic View'')
* 1929: ''Alþýðubókin'' (''The Book of the People'')
* 1933: ''Í Austurvegi'' (''In the Baltic'')
* 1938: ''Gerska æfintýrið'' (''The Russian Adventure'')

===Memoirs===
* 1952: ''Heiman eg fór'' (subtitle: sjálfsmynd æskumanns)
* 1963: ''Skáldtími''
* 1975: ''Í túninu heima'', part I
* 1976: ''Úngur eg var'', part II
* 1978: ''Sjömeistarasagan'', part III
* 1980: ''Grikklandsárið'', part IV
* 1987: ''Dagar hjá múnkum''

===Translations===
* 1941: ''Vopnin kvödd'' (''[[A Farewell to Arms]]''), [[Ernest Hemingway]]
* 1943: ''Kirkjan á fjallinu'' (''Kirken på bjerget''), [[Gunnar Gunnarsson]]
* 1945: ''Birtingur'' (''[[Candide]]''), [[Voltaire]]
* 1966: ''Veisla í Farángrinum'' (''[[A Moveable Feast]]''), Ernest Hemingway

===Other===
* 1941: ''Laxdaela Saga'', edited with preface 
* 1942: ''Hrafnkatla,'' edited with preface
* 1945: ''Brennunjal's Saga,'' edited with afterword
* 1945: ''Alexander's Saga,'' edited with preface
* 1946: ''Grettis Saga'', edited with preface
* 1952: ''Kvaedi og ritgerdir'' by Johann Jonsson, edited with preface

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

== Sources ==
*Halldór Guðmundsson, ''The Islander''. (London: Maclehose Press, 2008)
*Peter Hallberg, ''Halldór Laxness''. (New York: Twanye publishers, 1971)

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Halldór Laxness}}
* [https://www.gljufrasteinn.is/en/home Gljúfrasteinn, the Halldór Laxness Museum website]
* {{Nobelprize}} including the prize motivation
* {{Books and Writers |name=Halldór Laxness |id=laxness}}
* [http://www.haarsager.org/laxness/ Dennis Haarsager's biography ]
* [http://laxnessintranslation.blogspot.com/  ''Laxness in Translation'' website]

{{Halldór Laxness}}
{{Nobel Prize in Literature Laureates 1951–1975}}
{{Sonning Prize laureates}}
{{1955 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laxness, Halldor}}
[[Category:Halldór Laxness| ]]
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Icelandic male novelists|Halldor Laxness]]
[[Category:Icelandic essayists]]
[[Category:Icelandic satirists]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic writers]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism]]
[[Category:Icelandic Roman Catholics|Halldor Laxness]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Literature]]
[[Category:Icelandic Nobel laureates|Halldor Laxness]]
[[Category:Writers from Reykjavík|Halldor Laxness]]
[[Category:20th-century Icelandic translators]]
[[Category:Writers about the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:20th-century Icelandic novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in Iceland]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease]]
[[Category:Icelandic people with family names]]