A Stone Woman

Byatt, A.S. "A Stone Woman." Little Black Book of Stories. New York: Knopf, 2004. Pg. 109-156.




Byatt has written a very evocative story. I enjoyed reading Dame Byatt's "Possession." Stone Woman intrigued me due to its Iceland connection. It concerns a woman who develops a mystifying and enigmatic condition, in which her body slowly turns to stone. Not just any stone, but all kinds and colors. Her reaction to this is beautifully told, as is the relationship that she develops with an Icelandic stonecutter. Unusual and thought-provoking.

Christmas Greetings from Iceland

I wasn't the only one with secrets. Meanwhile, John was engaged in a stealth correspondence with a jeweler that we met our last day in Iceland, Maria Langenbacher. We visited her shop on Skolavordustigur, Mariella, and John and I loved her jewelry designs. Maria had stories to tell about the origins of the stones and materials in each piece. She was just as intriguing as her unusual jewelry designs. We didn't buy anything that day, but were tempted by a number of beautiful pieces.
On Christmas day I opened a package that had a Mariella sticker on it. I waited before opening it, savoring the feeling of not knowing what beautiful piece lay inside. It turns out that Maria sent John several sketches before he made up his mind. Seems to me he couldn't have made a better choice. Could it possibly have been lovelier? Now I carry a piece of Iceland with me everywhere I go.

The stone sparkles when the sun hits it, and the other side is just as unusual, yet different. I love surprises!

Birthday Greetings From Iceland

You may recall that we first encountered the artwork of Adalheidur Skarphedinsdottir while dining at Fjoruhusid Cafe in Hellnar.

We had only one day left in Reykjavik to try and locate her studio, and we were not successful. But the brochure that we picked up in Fjoruhusid enabled me to track her down when we returned to the states. And thus began a series of Top Secret international calls, emails and packages.

Adalheidur was kind enough to send me a portfolio with a sampling of her artwork, and I saw a number of pieces that I really responded to. I selected a print that she created in 1994 called "The Date." Adalheidur credited a visit to the National Museum in Reykjavik as the inspiration for the piece. She said she was fascinated by old folk art in wood from the 15th and 16th centuries.

What appealed most to me: the love, symbolized by the heart, cats, dancing, food, family/friends, music and movement all were meaningful to me, and I thought they were elements that John would respond to.

So for his birthday, I surprised John with this lovely print. Thank you, Adalheidur, for gracing our home with your spirit.

Still True Today

Bill Holm, Prairie Days (originally published as The Music of Failure), 1985:

A saga reader visiting Iceland now, expecting blood-thirstiness or violence from the population, is in for disappointment. He finds instead a mild, harmonious, democratic welfare state, just and literate, almost without murder, theft, or any violent crime. Doors are left unlocked and lost billfolds returned to strangers.

The Huldafolk Are Our Friends

John's wallet went missing on that epic horseback ride over the lava fields, our next-to-last day in Iceland. You may recall that he and the boys had a fruitless search for it, retracing their entire horseback ride on foot, and that his conclusion was:

There was something out there. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was trolls who stole my wallet. I'll have to find out...

Then he got an email from Sara and Emma. Now Sara and Emma are through with their work on the horse ranch for the summer, but Disa, the owner of Snorrastadir Farm, sent John's wallet back to him. She said that it was found...IN THE CABIN! Ha!

My hunch is that those sneaky trolls must have put it back there. John's theory, on the other hand, is a bit more complex. In essence: a witch that lived on the volcano didn't like outsiders intruding on her land so she stole John's wallet. But the spirits of the earth were saddened at her inhospitality toward guests, so they stole it back and placed it, safe from the elements, where it would be found.

Here it arrived, back in Richmond, with U.S. and Icelandic money intact.

Iceland Travel Guides: Insight Guides

Iceland Insight Guide, by Jane Simmonds. New York: Langenscheidt, 2004. 378 pgs. $22.95




You need this book! Even if you don't like Iceland, buy this book--it will help change your mind. It is lush with pictures. In fact, every single page has a least one color photo; many have several. The book design makes it enticing to pick up, and difficult to put down: there are boxed insets, sidebars, special sections, maps.

The guide begins with an excellent historical section that has interesting anecdotes, literary quotations, old illustrations and maps, and all number of things to spark the reader's interest. The bulk of the book is organized by geographical area but interspersed throughout are heavily illustrated articles: the sagas, birdwatchers paradise, unusual foods, hauntings. Lots of travel tips are included, and the reference sections and maps are accessible and helpful.

We left this book at home when we traveled to Iceland: with the colored glossy pages it is rather heavy. We should have either taken with us despite its weight, or read it cover to cover before we left--it would have enhanced our appreciation of all aspects of Icelandic life considerably. This book is a hybrid: a small coffeetable book with lovely photos, and much information on history, culture and contemporary life. Consequently the information on hotels, restaurants, travel, and tourist sites isn't as detailed. For the traveler, this one won't substitute for one of the guides below, but its a wonderful addition.

Iceland Travel Guides: Rough Guide to Iceland

Leffman, David and James Proctor. Rough guide to Iceland. New York: Rough Guides, 2004. 399 pgs. $18.99






Color pictures, maps, reference, historical information. A good companion to the Lonely Planet guide. When looking for locations, activities, geological features and historical discussions we found more of what we were looking for in Lonely Planet than in the Rough Guide. However, there were some times that we found what we were looking for in the Rough Guide and not Lonely Planet. That's why you need both guides, and you need to bring both guides with you. If all the lodging in one of the guides is booked, or you don't find a town you are going to visit, you'll be very grateful to have a second guide to check. While the free/commercial brochures that you pick up at tourist centers in Iceland are useful, you'll find these two guides more trustworthy and objective. This one excels with its coverage of the more remote, natural areas and parks, with many detailed maps and trails included.

Iceland Travel Guides: Lonely Planet

If you plan to travel to Iceland, you can afford to get all the available travel guides. There are three--three that count, that is. Traveling to Iceland is an expensive proposition, and investing in these will help you make the most of your trip, and prevent you from spending more money than necessary in order to have the best possible trip. None of these guides have all the information you need, and consulting each of them will allow you to pick the best lodging, best dining, and best activities in any given area.

This Lonely Planet guide is my vote for Best All Around ("if you could only have one travel guide...").

Harding, Paul and Joe Bindloss. Iceland. Oakland: Lonely Planet, 2004. 328 pgs. $19.99





Color pictures, maps, reference pages, historical information. This guide was very reliable, and had the highest percentage of entries for all of the places, big and small, that we visited while traveling the Ring Road all the way around the island. This book was by far the most dog-eared, with the most folded-down pages, at the end of our trip. This one won't let you down.

Pile of rocks reprise

You've seen this picture before! But I thought I'd share a passage I came across today while reading Jules Verne's A journey to the center of the earth:

Occasionally he would take it into his head to stop to pick up lumps of rock, and silently pile them up into small heaps, in order that we might not lose our way on our return.

When we took the hike to Skogarkot from Thingvellir these rock piles extended to the horizon, each one just barely in view of the previous one, silent guideposts. We also saw these on the volcanic highlands near Lake Myvatn. Strange to think that this practice has been going on for hundreds, probably a thousand years, maybe more.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

I am currently reading the 1864 Jules Verne science fiction novel. What good timing! A new film version is in progress! It is due for release in summer 2007 and features Brendan Fraser, Anita Briem and Josh Hutcherson. Anita Briem is an Icelandic actress, and it was filmed in Iceland. This version is placed in a contemporary setting. It appears that Jules Verne never actually visited Iceland.

Iceland in the news

"According to the annual survey by the Berlin-based Transparency International, the three least corrupt countries on the planet are Finland, Iceland and New Zealand." Helsingin Sanomat 7.11.2006

"Widespread damage to property resulted when a severe storm blew across Iceland in the early hours of Sunday morning and beyond... Two ships came loose at the harbor in Hafnarfjördur...
[and] car windows were shattered by blowing rocks. No injuries to people were reported."
Iceland Review 11/06/06
Note: maximum wind gusts of 70 mph.

To compare, Hurricane Isabel hit Richmond, Virginia with 62 mph winds on September 18, 2003.

Iceland Reads

Iceland, by Jim Krusoe. Chicago: Dalkey Archive Press, 2002. 182 pgs.





Here is a really interesting book. It isn't by an Icelandic author, and only part of the novel is actually set in Iceland. Paul is a man with some vague digenerative organ disease, and without many social skills. He's a fellow who seems to flow along with life's tide of events, passively adapting to whatever presents itself. In this acquiescent manner he falls in love, takes a trip to Iceland with a carpet cleaner he barely knows, narrowly escapes death hiking on a volcano, and falls into a marriage with an Icelandic woman. Paul's surreal journey felt strangely familiar--had I read the book before? Did it remind me of another book I had read? What was it about this book that I recognized? I finally realized that reading this book was akin to dreaming a dream. It has the same feeling that dreams have: events unfold without foreshadowing, strange things are accepted as everyday occurrences, one glides along unquestioningly. Dream this book!


Absolution, by Olaf Olafsson. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. 259 pgs.





Another masterful story by Iceland's justifiably most-famous author. It is no wonder that Olafsson's works have been translated into 14 languages. He writes about characters that are complex, believable, vulnerable yet strong, fatally flawed. His plot twists and flashbacks are handled with precision and suspense.

This story travels from Iceland to Denmark to Manhattan. As it unfolds you discover the many-layered secrets of a wealthy man who has had everything--and has lost everything. Or has he?



Silence of the Grave, by Arnaldur Indridason. Translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder. London: Vintage, 2005. 290 pgs.





This is the second "Reykjavik Murder Mystery," featuring police inspector Erlendur, that has been translated into English. A movie based on the first (Tainted Blood, or Jar City) was recently released under the title Myrin.

The author grudgingly releases a few more secrets of Erlender's past, which unfold layered within the action of the mystery. An interesting look at Reykjavik, past and present, and at characters who are beginning to claim our affection.

Book Review Mania!

Yes! Finally, more books for you to read. Here is the first, not to be missed:

Egil's Saga. Translated with an introduction by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards. New York: Penguin, 1976. 254 pgs.

Egil's Grief, by John

Egil's Saga is similar to the Saga of Grettir the Strong: they both deal with extremely difficult, courageous and violent men who are outlawed by early Icelandic society. Egil was presumably written around 1230 by Snorri Sturluson, up to 300 years before the Saga of Grettir, but the men are remarkably similar. The main difference between the two accounts is that we get a glimpse into Egil's thoughts and feelings through his poetry, especially the poetry written near the end of his life. Egil's Saga contains much humor. Egil himself, whose despicability is abundant, ultimately finds marginal redemption.

The introduction describes Egil well:

the hero of the Saga is killer, drunkard, miser, poet, wanderer, farmer, and can be any of these at any moment from his first killing at the age of six...We see him change from the viking his mother predicts after his first killing... the enemy of kings and berserks, the man of cunning, the sorcerer... to the settled farmer at Borg... to the ingenious lawyer aiding his son Thorstein, and finally to the senile, blind and deaf old man warming himself by the fire...apparently helpless, but proving himself still a troublemaker, still a poet, and still a killer.

Toward the end of his life Egil made a poem to honor his long-time friend Chieftan Arinbjorn of Norway. It ends this way:

So I rise up early
To erect my rhyme,
My tongue toils,
A servant at his task:
I pile the praise-stones,
The poem rises,
My labour is not lost,
Long may my words live.


Note: a fascinating article from Scientific American, January 1995, describes a medical condition, Paget's Disease, that may account for Egil's bizarre behavior (and appearance). See Egil's Bones.

Iceland/Clapton connection

Why has Eric Clapton not retired, you ask? After 40 years he continues to put on really hot concerts. Last night's was not unplugged, bluesy and calm, like I was expecting, but really rockin'! Surely he is tired of travel--the crowds--the mindlessly adoring public--singing old songs when he wants to sing new ones. Surely he doesn't need the money?

But wait! Eric vacations in Iceland during the summer, fishing for salmon at one of the expensive fishing lodges. ERIC CAN'T AFFORD TO RETIRE!

Which gives me the opportunity to tell you that John And I Have Arrived. How far have we arrived? Well, we were on Eric's security detail last night at John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville. Does it get any better than that? Nei.

photo: JOE MAHONEY/Richmond Times-Dispatch
(the same Joe Mahoney who photographed a recent wedding in the family)

ERIC CLAPTON REVIEW: 'Slowhand' slow down? Not hardly

Clapton's skill and integrity on display in Charlottesville show

BY MELISSA RUGGIERI

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Friday, October 13, 2006

Eric Clapton is one of the many in the I-said-I-retired-from-touring-but-I'm-back club -- and no one is arguing with that decision.

A month into this latest leg of a world tour that launched in May, Clapton, at 61, is as vital a musician and performer as his two six-string sidekicks, the immensely gifted Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II.

Most of last night's sold-out concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville was business as usual for Clapton. From looking like a banker on casual Friday in a pink button-down shirt, specs and baggy pants, to his workmanlike approach on the opening double punch of "Pretending" and "I Shot the Sheriff," Clapton never stopped to talk, showboat or do anything but wail on his guitar for two hours.

MUSIC REVIEW

ERIC CLAPTON

AT: John Paul Jones Arena last night

Even this mostly middle-aged crowd remained on its feet for the majority of the show, swaying along to the reggae thump of "Sheriff" and dancing appreciatively when Clapton retrieved the Derek & The Dominos gems "Anyday" and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out."

Anyone questioning Clapton's ability can turn in their music-appreciation badge immediately and move on, but even a legend requires some assistance. He shared the heavy lifting all night with comparative youngsters Trucks and Bramhall, whose playing proved they have every right to share the stage with guitar roy alty. Trucks is a phenomenal slide player and Bramhall's melodicstyle and equally strong backup vocals provided the perfect complement to Clapton's clean, but never pristine, blues.

_________________________________________________________________

No--we're not in this picture. Just wanted you to feel the power of Authority. Actually we were outfitted in navy vests with the UVA insignia, along with khakis and white polo shirts. The preppie look, as one would expect at a UVA event.

Iceland Women's Soccer comes to Richmond

Big day in Richmond today! First of all, it stopped raining after days of deluge. (We got over 4" of rain in the past week--much of it while we were at an outdoor concert Friday featuring New Orleans great Dr. John.)

But the really great thing was that the Iceland Women's Soccer team came to play the U.S. Women's National team, right here in Richmond. We bought 9 tickets, and had some of the best seats available during the first half of the game. During the second half most of the action was on the other side of the field.

U.S. scored in the first half and it remained 1-0 most of the game. At 89 minutes Iceland scored to tie. Finally the U.S. scored one more in stoppage time. Exciting! The Iceland keeper, Thora Helgadóttir, had an incredible performance with 14 saves. Iceland played great defense. It was exciting to see Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly in person, playing right in front of us for the first half. We were disappointed that Briana Scurry didn't play, for it would have been great to experience her intensity firsthand.


I was rooting for Iceland, John was rooting for both teams, and Peter supported the U.S. A large crowd showed up, and we were still hiking in from the parking lot while the teams were being introduced. Our friends told us that the audience was intrigued by the Icelandic names, and how they all ended in "dottir." Can you believe it, there weren't any Iceland t-shirts for sale--Darn!


About the Dr. John concert: when Lewis Ginter Gardens says, "All shows are RAIN OR SHINE. Please bring rain gear and umbrellas if there is a chance of rain" they mean it! John (Duke, that is) danced in the rain throughout the concert, his poncho blowing about in a frenetic manner. Dr. John's music has been described as a "unique blend of voodoo mysticism, funk, rhythm & blues, psychedelic rock and Creole roots"--clearly, he's hard to classify! And impossible to resist!

Where did we go?

We traveled the Ring Road around Iceland, counterclockwise. We made side trips to Thingvellir, Heimaey (by ferry) and the Snaefellsness Penninsula. We began and ended our trip in Reykjavik, and we were in Iceland a total of 12 days.

News Flash!

Thu, 5 Oct
>> 2006 10:25:02 -0000 From: Ferðaþjónustan Snorrastöðum

Hi John

I already mailed you earlier, but got no answer. Anyway, we found
your wallet and now I need to know where to send it. Hope you get this mail.

Greetings from Emma and Sara Snorrastaðir

stay tuned for more...!