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HALLDOR LAXNESS (1908 - 98) was born near Reykjavik, Iceland. His first novel was published when he was 17. The undisputed master of contemporary Icelandic fiction and one of the outstanding novelists of the twentieth century, he has written more than 60 books. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955.
First translated into English by Magnus Magnusson in 1961, Laxness's lyrical satire on the American military presence on Iceland after World War II had already helped gain him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955. The American decision to impose a NATO base on the island is seen through the eyes of a maid working for her local Member of Parliament. She not only represents the simple resistance to authority, and, therefore, American imperialism, but the clash of cultures north and south, between the powerless and the organised power like big business. Laxness' style reflects this clash, with his inner turmoil against the communist outsider, his cynicism and the lyrical folk tradition and his anger alongside gentleness. (Kirkus UK)
