Author: Sj贸n
Title: From the Mouth of the WhaleGenre: Literary Fiction
Publication Date: 2011
Number of Pages: 231
Geographical Setting: Iceland
Time Period: 1635
馃弳 Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2012
馃弳 Shortlisted for The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize 2013
Summary
In 17th century Iceland, Jonas, a natural philosopher and healer laments on his life through descriptive memories and visions of times past involving the exorcism of a walking corpse, Adam and Eve, and the massacre of the Basque whalers. His dabbling in science and magic leads him to be accused of sorcery and exiled to an island off the coast of Iceland, with his wife Sigga, a farmer's daughter who possesses a natural inclination toward math and astronomy. Jonas bears likeness to J贸n l忙r冒i Gu冒mundsson (1574–1658) poet and alleged sorcerer. Jonas is given a short reprieve to work alongside Ole Worm, a professor, in Copenhagen, Denmark where he contemplates the magical powers of unicorn horns and learns he is not the only one with a wild imagination.
Subject Headings
Heresy -- Fiction.
Iceland -- Social conditions -- 17th century -- Fiction.
Appeal
Three words that describe this novel: stream-of-consciousness, whimsical, sweeping
LANGUAGE / STYLE
Literary Fiction is known for its complex language and interesting styles. Sj贸n expresses Jonas' thoughts in a stream-of-consciousness form of poetic prose.
CHARACTERIZATION
Character portrayals in Literary Fiction are "distinct and memorable; richly realized, specific, and 'of themselves' rather than stereotypes...with rich interior worlds that readers are invited to enter and explore." Readers will never meet another character like Jonas - a man who is painfully rehashing his life choices and contemplating the impact of his spiritual journey on his physical one.
STORYLINE
Literary Fiction "comments on its time, ofter reaching into the past to do so." Jonas spends the entire novel looking back on how the choices he made throughout his lifetime led him to the lonely and painful place of his present and future.
PACING
"Authors pride themselves on the layers of meaning in their works, which takes time to discover and savor." From the Mouth of the Whale is a slow and savory read.
Read-alikes
The Blue Fox by Sj贸n, Victoria Cribb (Translator) (2003)
Angels of the Universe by Einar Mar Gudmundsson, Bernard Scudder (Translator) (1997)
The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea (2019)
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec (2021)
The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology by Snorri Sturluson, Jesse L. Byock (Translator) (2006)
The Poetic Edda by Carolyne Larrington (Translator) (2014)
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (2017)
Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. (2019). The reader's advisory guide to genre fiction (3rd ed.). ALA Editions.
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this book and it sounds so cool! Did you hear about from a particular source or just come across it? The author sounds familiar but just in a vague I know I've heard that name before kind of way. I'm definitely intrigued though-describing it as whimsical and sweeping pulled me in. What did you think of it?
This novel definitely sounds intriguing and very complex. You've piqued my interest with the appeals and summary. Great job and full points!
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