Jón Kalman Stefánsson’s Icelandic Trilogy Finally Available in North America

Jón Kalman Stefánsson’s “Trilogy About the Boy” has been published in North America over the past year and a half, with the final volume released in June. The trilogy, set in late nineteenth-century Iceland, follows an unnamed boy through harsh landscapes, loss, and erotic love. The first book, “Heaven and Hell,” was published in Icelandic in 2007; “The Sorrow of Angels” and “The Heart of Man” followed in 2009. English translations by Philip Roughton appeared in the UK between 2010 and 2013 but only recently became available in North America. The narrative is concrete and vivid, blending humor, understatement, and psychological depth. Characters include the boy, his friend Bárður, the blind sea captain Kolbeinn, housekeeper Helga, and the independent landlady Geirþrúður. The trilogy tackles themes of daring, loss, and the cost of inaction, with a style reminiscent of nineteenth-century social novels.