5 comments about Colloquial Icelandic: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series).

1. This book does a pretty good job of introducing a rather difficult language---my wife and I moved to Iceland a year ago and we have been using this book as part of our learning process. No textbook can make one master a language, of course, but this is a reasonable overview of how teo introduce yourself, order food, and pick out some items from the newpaper. However, I must second the suggestion that the book needs a thorough explanation of elisions----the connection of sounds typical in everyday speech. English speakers do this also; terminal "t" often becomes a "d", as in "....what are we doing now?" Anyway, the peculiarities of daily Icelandic pronunciation deserve a at least a mention, and not least because the excellent native speakers on the CD make no bones about going slowly for the foreigners.
   Secondly, some reviewers (and Daisy Neijmann herself) have mentioned that once you have mastered (!) Icelandic, you can "appreciate the sagas in their original form." That is rather hyperbolic; not many contemporary Icelanders can understand the original texts of the sagas. The ancient language in which, for example, Snorri Sturluson (author of Egils saga) spoke and wrote,was much harder and crisper, and since then many consonant sounds have softened; i.e. terminal "k" is now written and sounded as terminal "g"; the names "Haraldr" and "Eírikr" and now rendered both in speech and writing with and additional vowel----Haraldur and Eírikur. My point is that the suggestion that a non-native speaker upon completing his study of Colloquial Icelandic can strait proceed to the original saga texts is rather far-fetched. Icelanders today often read a modern translation of them, in the same way that it is quite difficult to understand the original Chaucer.
   Those two points aside, this a fine book, and helpful for anyone who plans for a stay in Iceland. If you're just going to Reykjavík for a party, don't bother.



2. The Icelandic language has a complex morphology that requires some dedicated study in order to master. And this book does a decent job of introducing elements of the language through engaging topics about daily life.
   
   The two CD recordings, however, have some disappointing quirks:
   
   1. The publishers have added fairly noisy sound effects of background commotion to the CD recordings such as those that you would find in moving airplanes, fuzzy telephone lines, and other crowded public places; the logic most likely being that we sometimes encounter background noises when we are trying to communicate, so why not make us learn the pronunciation with this same kind of interference. The result is that the sounds of Icelandic are presented in a muffled and indistinct way on the CD. It would be more logical to use the recordings to present the sounds of the language in the purest way possible during the learning phase so that the listener might stand a chance of acquiring them. I cannot imagine a classroom teacher bringing in recorded sound effects to play during class time. We have enough practice in listening to background noises in real life without having them manufactured and thrown at us during our learning phase of a language.
   
   2. There is a lot of English on the CD recordings. First of all, every Icelandic conversation has a lengthy, detailed presentation of the setting in English. Second, the Icelandic conversations are often interrupted with bits of advice such as "Now see whether you can understand the name of the company that the speaker will mention next" or "Try to understand the numbers in the next sentence." This kind of information could easily be included in the textbook or in an accompanying flyer. There is no way of blocking this interference; and after multiple listenings, when a listener might like to hear only the spoken Icelandic, the listener is forced to hear the presentations and the interruptions repeatedly.
   
   3. It should also be noted that the Icelandic phonemes are presented once, and the dialogues are presented at a normal rate of speech by the speakers. This is probably neither good nor bad, but if you prefer to listen to slower-paced Icelandic while learning the sounds, the recordings will disappoint you.
   
   With the background noises, the introductions, and the interruptions removed, the recordings could be a satisfactory adjunct to the textbook.



3. Take a crappy introductory book and just read it aloud and it is still crappy. Skip this one.



4. Like most of the Routledge "Colloquial" series, this one offers a semi-immersion training method. After a detailed introduction to the sounds of Icelandic: vowels, consonants, stress, etc., you are plunged into a series of dialogs between a native Icelander and a visitor. The dialogs proceed at near-normal speed (which in my mind is a good thing; it's the way you'll hear the language spoken), so I have had to listen to them over and over again -- I consider this a positive approach -- to accustom my ear to the way words string together and cause elisions and other phenomena of spoken language that are hard to acquire from a book alone.
   
   For a paperback, the book itself is nicely composed: good paper, typeface is easy to read. The CDs, likewise, are clear and easy to follow.



5. Having had absolutely NO knowledge of the Icelandic language prior to purchasing this book, i suppose it is somewhat helpful in its presentation of consonants and vowel sounds (pages 2-4). Beyond that, the learning curve is exponential, and as there is NO PHONETIC system present for the Icelandic that appears in dialogues or vocab lists, the user is left guessing the pronunciation of difficult words with new letters/sounds that do not exist in Germanic languages. With other language self study, i've been spoiled by Berlitz, as their extremely user friendly phonetic system not only exists, but also is much more simplified than even IPA. Granted, i do have the CDs that accompany the book (i cannot even imagine how difficult the course would be without them!), but there is no listen/repeat format, and the native actors speak so quickly, it's impossible to tease out the pronunciation of individual words.
   Having practiced up through dialogue 2, i've just learned how to say hello, but still am unsure how to say 'yes' and 'no'. Additionally, the vocab lists after the dialogues are incomplete (beyond simply lacking phonetics, which is bad enough), in that they do not include all of the words/phrases spoken by the actors. I've not yet encountered the chapter that deals with declensions but judging from what this course is lacking in already, i would recommend that those not familiar with nominative, dative, and accusative cases become so in your native language before trying to cut your teeth on grammar points in icelandic.
   I'm proceeding nonetheless, as there are no alternatives beyond Teach Yourself, and some course by publisher Hippocrene, though i'm quite sure my pronunciation of the language will be quite jarring to Icelanders when i visit.

5 comments about Icelandic: Grammar, Text and Glossary.

1. Just so you know this book is as colloquial as you can get. It is worth every penny i spent on it. Information & all. Icelandic text is hard to find, but as of this moment to the next Liguist around will help bring more and more products to the states. trust me i have searched, Here and there THis site has good material to start with. Very precise for the retentive.



2. I begin with telling this is not a book for beginners. To grab the basics, buy Daisy L. Neijmann's Colloquial Icelandic. After you have completed that, this book will become your ultimate authority on this difficult but beautiful language. The reason for that is, this book assumes you have a fairly comprehensive knowledge of language in general, needed for learning the Icelandic language as well. The Colloquial Icelandic book introduces you this very gradually, whereas it is presented in bigger fragments in Stefán Einarsson's book.
   The book is: very good-looking, very thick, very complete. However, is also very old (written around the second world war), so for newer words, you have to look elsewhere. This said, its biggest impediment is also its biggest advantage: everything is presented in a very thorough way (like only could have been done long ago), accompanied by beautiful pictures of various texts and exercises.
   The book has been devided in various parts, and not in chapters:

   ---------------------------------------------------
   1) INTRODUCTION (page I - XXVII)
   * preface
   * preface to the second edition
   * how to use the book
   * topical index
   * bibliography
   * abbreviations
   * contents
   * list of illustrations

   The target of the introduction is to learn how to use the book. Everything is well done here, but it's a pity that the bibliography does almost only mention books that are out of print.
   ---------------------------------------------------
   2) GRAMMAR AND TEXTS (page 1 - 293)

   * contents of grammar
   * grammar
   * texts I
   * texts II

   This is of course the actual heart of the book. The grammar is build up of three parts: pronunciation, inflexions, and syntax. The pronunciation is very profound and every possible sound is mentioned. The inflexions teach the possible forms of ANY wordtype (and is therefore very valuable), while the syntax focusses on WHEN everything is used, and also explains what "cases" are, etc. etc.
   The texts come in two varieties, the one kind being texts with references to which grammar to learn, the other kind being texts without that. While the themes of the first are sometimes unsignificant, the latter are really about parts of Icelandic society. And, remember, each text comes with a separate glossary to learn.
   ---------------------------------------------------
   3) GLOSSARY (page 295-502)

   The glossary may be the best reason to buy the book. In fact, it's an Icelandic/English dictionairy, with reference to the grammar part for the inflections of the words. Honestly, this is the only book which contains (something close to) a dictionairy, with the full forms of any word. Too bad it isn't English/Icelandic!
   ---------------------------------------------------

   I hope I've helped you with my review, just remember that you won't regret buying this book! =)




3. Icelandic is not an easy language to learn and this book is a real antique in its approach to language learning, so I can imagine the frustration of a student whose previous experiences are high school or college courses (say beginning Spanish or French) or a Berlitz or Teach-Yourself course with tapes or CDs. Be warned, this is not that kind of book. If you speak native-level English and have studied Greek, Latin or German, this book will do you much good. If you know something about grammar and linguistics, so much the better. No phonetic descriptions are going to teach you to speak Icelandic or any other language. For that you'll have be around a native speaker, and you might do well also to get a phrase book and tapes. If, however, you want to learn to read Icelandic(and also old Norse)this is the best book I've found. It's surely an indispensable reference work to accompany other Icelandic programs as well. I don't know where else you'll find so much information to help unravel the complexities of Icelandic. Get it, but be prepared to work. It will take even an experienced language learner a couple of years to digest half of what it has to offer.



4. As was mentioned above, this book is best for people who already have the 'sound' of the language in their heads. It's not worth the trouble to try to use the pronunciation guide in the beginning of this book; with easy access to CDs, etc., it's quicker to learn from them.
   
   After that, however, this book is a great resource. I recommend skipping over the grammar sections (at least at first) and beginning with the first text. What I did was I looked at the words in the word list and said them all out loud with their definitions, then went and read the text out loud right after that. This helped me remember what the words meant as I read them, and so the text was comprehensible right from the beginning.
   
   I didn't bother with the exercises (as they necessitate using the grammar portion of the book, which is too abstruse for most learners, I think). I just happily learned about Icelandic culture reading the texts.
   
   I went all the way up to the end of Texts I (the part with the wordlists), then went back and did it again, this time only using the wordlist to check words I couldn't remember. After that, I took on Texts II (which don't have wordlists and rely on the glossary). This meant that I needed to look up the words in the glossary when I got stuck. It was a bit slower than using the wordlists, obviously, but this was outweighed by the enthusiasm of being able to read and enjoy real Icelandic after only about 75 hours of learning (that includes learning pronunciation through the Teach Yourself series)!
   
   My plan after this is to finish going through all of Texts II, then pick up an Icelandic-Icelandic dictionary along with a real Icelandic book and I'll be on my way! I'm certainly not done yet, but this book was a vital step and much appreciated.



5. A very good manual for learning Icelandic. Written in WWII, the lessons are clear, concise and let even rank amateurs gain at least an appreciation for this beautiful language.

5 comments about Beginner's Sicilian (Beginner's (Foreign Language)).

1. If you know nothing of Sicilian language, this book may help you pick up a little vocabulary. But as a Sicilian, and as a professional editor for 5 years, I have to say that I wouldn't look to this book for any definitive answer to anything.

   There are typos everywhere you look, not to mention layout and formatting issues. Was an editor or proofreader -- or ANYONE -- ever employed to read this before it went to press? I'd be mortified as the author to see a book of mine published with such a disregard for content and style -- particularly since it's an educational book, and a language book to boot.

   You may get some benefit from this book, simply because I have never seen another book on Sicilian out there, but that's where my recommendation stops.




2. I can't say definitely because I am just a student, but this book wont get you far, it is full of Italianism (which may be current in Sicily, but so is Standard Italian) or maybe I began with an archaic dialect and that makes such impression.



3. Here's a well-organized paperback full of information, vocabularies, and exercises in translation. It's particularly helpful for travelers.



4. If one has an interest in learning Sicilian, this book is a good toolbox of info. However, like any real toolbox, the tools are so cluttered and spread out that one needs to know what you're looking for and how to use it before he even opens it. There is no index in this book, and the table of contents merely has lesson titles (like "At the Airport") and doesn't tell one where to find grammatical info. One should not only KNOW another language before using this book, but one should know how to LEARN another language (parts of speech, &c.) before diving in. If you know what you're looking for, it's altogether good.
   
   I don't know of any other Sicilian grammars, and thinking that this could be the best available in English frightens me. If I were a Sicilian, I'd be embarassed.



5. Wonderful introduction to Sicilian with practical lessons and dialog. General notes about the island and history geared more towards one who is planning a future visit. Clearly written.

5 comments about Icelandic-English/English-Icelandic Dictionary (Hippocrene Concise Dictionary).

1. Most people who study Icelandic, buy this little book, but it's absolutely useless, because:

   *1. It contains too few words.

   Only 5,000 one way (a good dictionairy should contain at least 50,000).

   *2. There are no inflection indications.

   The most essential thing of the whole Icelandic language lacks (only gender is stated, and the strength of verbs, which is absoutely useless without other information).

   *3. No word combinations, no proverbs whatsoever.

   Needed for a good use of the language.

   *4. Old-fashioned.

   No modern words.

   --------------

   The problem is, THERE ARE NO OTHER ICELANDIC DICTIONAIRIES AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. ...I hope I have helped you.




2. The demand for Icelandic dictionaries is pretty small. Because of this, you will have to pay 60 dollars or more for a great or out-of-print edition. The hippocrene version is not a great dictionary by any stretch of the imagination, however, it retails for around 10 dollars. If you are serious about learning Icelandic, you will need a dictionary. Pick this one up and use the glossaries from you other books (such as Teach Yourself Icelandic, Colloquial Icelandic, Icleandic, etc...) to supplement what this edition leaves out. The other reviewers seem to have alot of money, which explains their disdain for this cheap edition and absurdly expensive recommendations. Which one would you choose: a brand new $10 dictionary or a $60+ out-of-print dictionary. Just be sure to check Half Price Books and other used bookstores to see if they happen to have any large college or complete Icelandic dictionaries in stock.



3. This dictionary is better than what most of the other reviewers have said. It is not a big dictionary, it has 177 pages, and it only has one column of print, but it has many words in it. Someone said it still uses the letter z, which Icelandic no longer uses. But I did not see the letter z in the Icelandic section.
   
   This is not a great dictionary, but it will go along just fine with other books' glossaries.



4. I don't know the background of the nay-sayers of this little gem, but it's a pocket-style dictionary. DUH!
   
   Anybody who's used pocket-dictionaries knows that they are limited in capacity.
   
   Me, I use this to look up the English - Icelandic and then go over to Zoega's to look up the Old Norse version of the modern Icelandic. It usually gets me in the ballpark.
   
   I am self-teaching Old Norse so I can create more accurate "Rune" stones for SCA awards for Norse personas. While my Old Norse isn't perfect, it's gotten a lot better with this nice, POCKET sized dictionary.



5. Although the earliest date in the book is 1990, a little bit of knowledge of the language will reveal a number of anomalies in spelling and word choice that clearly date the book as much older. On the lcelandic side, there is at least occasional use of the letter 'z' in words such as Þýzkaland (Germany), which according to wikipedia at least (URL excluded per guidelines, but search for "Icelandic Language") indicates that the reference to that spelling dates from before 1974, at which time the letter 'z' was removed from the language. On the English side, spellings such as 'to-day' and 'to-morrow' also seem to date the book as being much older than even the 1970s. Even the appearance of the text and the distinction in the printing between the bulk of the book and the last few pages seem to indicate an older text.
   
   That said, it's not useless as a reference, but as others have noted, it is quite limited. I don't have occasion to test whether the translations it provides are as archaic as I expect they might be -- imagine someone speaking to you now in English as it was spoken in the 30s or 40s, for example -- but for a beginner it does fill in some of the gap that would otherwise require a much more expensive dictionary costing at least 10x as much. In that vein, it is a "you get what you pay for" product to me. I use it, but get somewhat limited use out of it.

3 comments about Beginner's Icelandic (Hippocrene Beginner's).

1. Finally! I've been waiting for this book forever--Hippocrene really took their time with this one (from announcement to date of release). Let me start by saying that I have not worked through this entire book yet (I haven't had it that long). So, my review will just give you a general overview of what to expect.
   
   Beginner's Icelandic conforms to Hippocrene's `Beginner Series' (the newer ones) format, which has been quite good, in my opinion. It is similar in form (and pedagogy) to Beginner's Norwegian, Beginner's Swedish, and Beginner's Danish.
   
   You get the book and two CD's. The book has a brief cultural intro, pronunciation guide, 14 lessons, a two-way glossary, and a CD track list. The lessons generally consist of two dialogs, a vocabulary list, a phrase list, a grammar/structure/function section, and a few exercises.
   
   The dialogs are FULLY transcribed into English (thank you, Hippocrene!), which saves so much time (not having to thumb back and forth from dictionary to dialog). The vocabulary lists could have been typeset into columns a bit better, but at least they are there! For a beginner's book, the grammar sections look to be a substantial intro to Icelandic's quite formidable grammar, but primarily stick with present tense on the verbs. As is the case with most all language books published within the last 20 years, the exercises are a bit skimpy, but they look to be good solid drilling rather than the `fluff' that many texts attempt to pass off as practice these days.
   
   The CD's have an extensive intro to the alphabet, diphthongs, pronunciation of vowels, double consonants, stress, and length of vowels. Good stuff. After these guides, there is very little wasted time in English. You get the dialogs (full speed, then slower speed on some), and the vocabulary/expression lists. There are probably some dialogs skipped somewhere along the way (I've noticed this on other Beginner's Series CD's) to keep it down to two CD's. But what is there is great--good quality audio, clear speaking, no distracting background noise, and fairly pleasant voices.
   
   As for Icelandic: although it's a member of the North Germanic family along with Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Faroese, etc, and although you hear that `North Germanic' sound to an extent, it is quite a bit more `exotic' sounding than its cousins. It brings to mind a touch of the sounds of Irish Gaelic and Russian. To me, Icelandic is one of the most beautiful languages, if not the most beautiful (of any I've heard). On the other hand, Icelandic grammar is significantly more difficult than it's cousin languages, so be prepared for that.
   
   As I get further into the book (I'm polishing my Norwegian right now) I will add to this review any annoying tendencies that present themselves. But, truthfully, it looks to be a good solid introduction from what I've seen so far... provided you are willing to put in the study time--and you WILL need to put in study time with Icelandic. :-) Good luck with this beautiful language!



2. I'm only about halfway through this--I just started on the second CD today. I would heartily second the other reviewer's comments. The book is well-structured, and introduces the tricky Icelandic grammar in small bites so it isn't overwhelming. I, too, would like more exercises, but that seems to be the modern method. Older books I've seen have LOTS of exercises, but no answer key, which kind of defeats the purpose unless you're in a class.
   
   Pronunciation is a real issue in Icelandic. It's not at all intuitive ('á' is pronounced 'ow', while 'au' is pronounced 'oy', just to give you an idea). So I find myself going back to the first CD over and over, just to listen.
   
   The dialogs are more entertaining than is often the case, with a sort of story being played out. And yes, a couple of the chapters have two dialogs, and the second one is never on the recording. But any new words are included in the recording of the vocab list.
   
   This is a good, solid introduction to Icelandic. You won't achieve full fluency, but you can't really expect that in 14 lessons, now, can you?



3. I agree with the other reviewers for the most part. Yes, more exercises would benefit this particular title. Icelandic is a very conservative language, linguistically speaking - very archaic. Grammar drills are very important, and I have made it a practice, when learning languages like Icelandic, to develop my own drills. Continuous practice in drilling the noun, adjective, and verbal patterns is a must in order to conjugate verbs and decline nouns quickly and accurately when speaking. The main disappointment I had with this book is that it doesn't teach the past tense of verbs. This little bit of information is only cited in the beginning of the book near the end of the introduction. While it does have some instances of past tense sentences, it was intentionally not included as part of the course. So, if you're speaking of the future or present. If you want to talk about the past, perhaps some creativity will be required.

5 comments about Teach Yourself Icelandic Complete Course Audiopack.

1. I have not completed this course yet, but I have looked ahead. This is an excellent resource to start learning Icelandic. It starts out with pronounciation and works you through simple questions like What is your name? to more complex sentences and words. Cases and gender are introduced right at the beginning.This is a great resource and I recommend it for those who want to start learning Icelandic.



2. I'm quite pleased with this approach to learning a language, after earlier experiences with traditional textbooks. It's clear and the order is very practical--what's your name, where are you from, what are you doing, where are you going, what time is it, it's time for a review, etc. I visited the official website of Iceland recently, and was somewhat dismayed to learn that 99% of the population speaks English, but there are still the sagas.



3. This is a surprisingly well-conceived and compact introduction to colloquial Icelandic, a grammatically complex language. Enough grammar is included to clarify the practical, idiomatic conversational patterns, and the grammar is measured out thoughtfully, as the lessons proceed. Very helpful is the the appendix with bibliography and resources for further study. Hildur Jonsdottir has done a terrific job with this minimal package. My only suggestion for improvement would be to beef up the glossary, and include gender indications for nouns.



4. Though it moves at a fast pace, this course pack makes learning Icelandic easer than I have imagined and experienced. It's great for pronunciation, and once you have a go, you gain the ability to speak, understand, read and write the language. Something I wasn't able to do well before. :)



5. This book plus CDs offer an easy way to learn Icelandic. The lessons are grouped around themes (languages, visting, family, time of day, etc.) each teaching elements of Icelandic. The CDs are easy to follow with very clear pronounciation.

5 comments about The Draining Lake: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller).

1. Twenty years ago the Berlin Wall crumbled to the ground, marking the end of the Cold War. Tiny stones scattered deep in memories are the only remaining evidence of the Soviet and American espionage legacy that once held presence in Iceland during the 1950s and 60s. Arnaldur Indridason, native Icelander and award-winning author, has drawn from this legacy to craft his latest novel, //The Draining Lake//. Steeped in the intrigue of this bygone era, Indridason's novel humbly presents an examination of ambition in its rawest and most puerile form: young men willing to betray their fellow countrymen and friends to take hold of what they desire. A superb story teller and brilliant craftsman of language, Indridason effectively uses flashbacks to the 1950s where young Icelandic students are studying at a university nestled behind the iron curtain in East Germany to primp the plot. Set in contemporary Iceland, this novel begins in Lake Kleifarvatn, where rapidly decreasing water levels because of an earthquake reveal a 30 year-old skeleton, and thus begins the journey of discovering how it became a final resting place.



2. Perhaps I'm being quite presumptuous with the review title, because I know nothing about other Icelandic writers. But I have read three of Arnaldur Indridason's "Reykjavik Thrillers," and have been most impressed with his lean prose, painstakingly constructed plots, and the fascinating Detective Erlendur.
   
   This book is about a skeleton recently found in Iceland's Lake Kleifarvatn. Tests determine that it was placed there in the late 1960's. It was tied to a heavy piece of Russian radio receiving equipment of the sort that was used for clandestine listening. Now, Erlendur is on the case, more than thirty years after the body was "anchored" in the lake.
   
   Erlendur's search involves Cold War intrigue in post-WWII Germany. There is a lot about Icelandic college students who studied at the University of Leipzig in East Germany. They had been strongly attracted to communist doctrine, and were supported in their studies by the communist regime. But, when they got to East Germany, many became disillusioned by the intolerant, often brutal, police state. The students' story includes a touching love affair between an Icelander and a Hungarian woman who meet at the university. The possible connection between all of this and the skeleton is at the heart of the matter.
   
   As I saw in Indridason's other works, Erlendur has his hunches. In this book, Erlendur is convinced that there is some connection between the skeleton and a new Ford Falcon that was mysteriously abandoned at about the same time that the body was placed in the lake. In fact, he becomes determined to uncover the mystery of the car even if it is not related to the skeleton. He conducts some intriguing interviews with an extremely ill-tempered retired farmer who just may know something.
   
   I don't want to spoil it by revealing much more. Indridason brings several diverse elements together to build a powerful conclusion. Highly recommended.



3. Rather than an intense crime mystery or espionage thriller, 'The Draining Lake' is more of a study of how actions and personal struggles of years gone by (in this case, 1950s socialistic ideals) end in bitter disappointment and leave their marks many years later. All this becomes exposed as an Icelandic police team investigate the identity of someone found buried in lake. No high drama. No great surprises or plot twists. Just fine writing and an interesting story.
   
   
   Bottom line: not a 'page turner' by any means. But competent fiction by any measure.



4. In the fourth of the Inspector Erlendur series, Gold Dagger Award-winner Arnaldur Indridasson creates a challenging and thought-provoking mystery by revisiting the political complexities of Iceland during the height of the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s. At this time, many Icelandic young people were resentful of the US presence and its huge naval air station in Keflavik, accusing the US of "spreading filth." While the US and NATO were using this base for strategic defense against possible USSR aggression, many students, often from poor families, were accepting the chance to study in East Germany at the University of Leipzig, then returning home with their socialist and communist messages. For Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson, busy solving contemporary crimes, this past history has been unimportant, but when an earthquake leads to the unexpected draining of Lake Kleifarvatn, a skeleton, weighed down with a Russian transmitter, emerges from the depths, a large hole in its skull. With no other evidence available, Erlendur's only hope of identifying the remains rests with his investigation of missing persons from the late 1970s and 1980s.
   
   Switching back and forth in time between Erlendur's current investigation, and the lives, thirty years ago, of a group of Icelandic students in Leipzig, Indridason brings the past into the present by reopening old cases and re-interviewing the people involved. The students who went to Leipzig in the 1970s and 1980s discovered life there to be more difficult than they had imagined. They are expected to report on each other as part of "interactive surveillance," in addition to attending compulsory "social" meetings and doing a week's hard labor as "volunteers" during the summers, only to be spied up on themselves. Some give up and leave the university to return to Iceland. Others become even more committed to their socialist and communist goals.
   
   As the two plot lines evolve and begin to overlap, investigators Erlendur, Sigurdur Oli, and Elinborg reveal more about their own personal lives, becoming far more developed than they have been in this series up to now. Erlendur, dour and seemingly unemotional, is still dealing with his drug-addicted children-daughter Eva Lind and son Sindi Snaer-his son now "clean," and his daughter, who has suffered a miscarriage and undergone rehab, now back on drugs. Sigurdur Oli and his wife also have issues which elicit the reader's sympathy, while Elinborg adds a happier and sometimes comical note with the publication of her first cookbook.
   
   Atmospheric and filled with the dark stories which envelop its numerous Icelandic characters, the novel reflects main character Erlender's terse style, his abbreviated dialogue, and his no-nonsense approach to life. Author Indridason develops suspense about the old murder and its connection to the students from the outset and builds it carefully, as bits of information gradually arise in both the present and the past plot lines. The point of view of a mysterious ex-student who has talked about the murder at the beginning keeps the suspense high, and as all the students come to terms with the differences between their idealistic expectations and the reality of their lives in East Germany, their increasing desperation becomes understandable. A first-class mystery set in an unusual time and place, The Draining Lake is an exciting continuation of this series and the characters who keep it fresh. Mary Whipple
   
   Jar City: A Reykjavik Thriller
   Silence of the Grave (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries, No. 2)
   Jar City
   Arctic Chill: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller), DVD



5. THE DRAINING LAKE is yet another title in Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavik series. They're all good, old-fashioned detective novels, although set in contemporary Iceland. Indridason's writing is powerful: it's spare, direct, and solid.
   
   The main character in these books is a detective named Erlendur, who schleps through a far from glamorous life, solving cases with his team. Erlendur is estranged from his wife and he has a tenuous, largely unhappy, relationship with his two adult (burn-out)children. He reads obsessively about travellers who have vanished in Iceland's wilderness; his younger brother disappeared in a blizzard when they were kids, and that tragedy overshadows everything in Erlendur's life. As prickly and churlish as Elendur can be, he's a decent police officer who is conscientious in his work.
   
   Of course, Erlendur's fellow detectives have to include a handsome, younger cop and a woman--in this case, Sigurder Oli and Elinborg, respectively. Indridason is really good at allowing all of these characters to become more complex and well-developed throughout the series, revealing them little by little.
   
   But the most interesting component of all is Iceland itself. Indridason brings the country and its people to life, in all its bleakness. It's a harsh environment, and the prose style fits the setting exactly. Detective Erlendur's cool reserve seems to be a function of his surroundings, as he deliberately moves toward resolving cases.
   
   In THE DRAINING LAKE, Erlendur and his team catch a case involving Cold War-era spies. Iceland, which still hosts an American military base, was a fairly significant area during the Cold War--right on the border between the Soviets and the West. We are introduced to a man who had experiences in East Germany during his idealistic socialist-influenced youth, and Indridason paints a frightening picture of student life under Communism, when friends informed on friends and the Stasi "disappeared" people who had become inconvenient to the cause.
   
   Among the countries I'd like to visit, Iceland is in my top five. Even though this series reveals some of the darker corners of that society, Indridason still makes it sound like a fascinating destination.
   

5 comments about My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland.

1. Thóra Gudmundsdóttir's client Jónas Júlíusson wants her to look into the conditions of the land sale he made for the New Age health spa he runs in western Iceland. Would the undisclosure of ghost haunting the place be cause for legal action? Although Thóra does not believe in the ghost, she can't resist his offer for a nice weekend away from the children. Thóra begins research the the history of the farmhouse, a history that becomes more and more disturbing as she unearths more and more details. Even Thóra hears the strange eerie sounds associated with the ghost. Could the haunting be real? When the body of architect Birna Halldórsdóttir is discovered on the beach, Thóra investigates in order to protect her client when his cell phone makes him a possible suspect in the brutal murder. Could the murder have a connection to the haunting or is there some other motive connected to the spa itself? When another body is found, a body with the same disturbing clues, Thóra's investigation becomes all the more pressing. Can the evil of the past influence the present? What deadly secrets will Thora discover? Can those of the past speak to those present now long after their life stories have ended?
   
   In the second book featuring attorney Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, MY SOUL TO TAKE, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir prefaces the current day story with an account of a 1945 horrific crime account of the eerie murder of a child, a crime all the more disturbing for its non-violent premeditated murder seen through a child's perspective. At first, the connection between the prologue and the main story seems unconnected but as Thóra unearths the past, the background of the past crime gives an eerie, and at times supernatural, atmosphere to the family history she discovers. Although slightly less macabre in actual crime details than LAST RITUALS, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir's second thriller has elements in common with the first that make the Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series so uniquely exquisite: the twisted creepiness of the crime and all its ramifications, a supernatural tone balanced by Thóra Gudmundsdóttir's more practical approach to clues, a connection between past and present and respect for history, and also a look into the deadly secrets within families. In both thrillers, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir weaves Iceland's history, landscape and culture into the very fabric of the thriller. MY SOUL TO TAKE is perhaps less graphically shocking than LAST RITUALS, yet just as disturbing --- if not more so. This reader would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite between the two. Rather than choose, MY SOUL TO TAKE along with her fist novel marks Yrsa Sigurdardóttir a new writer to add to my list of must read, top suspense authors writing today.
   
   MY SOUL TO TAKE is an awesome thriller that continues to haunt long after the last page. The crimes seen from the point of view of the victims give the reader a glimpse into the twisted face of evil as one sees through the perspective of the very human victims. As the clues unfold, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir paints an ominous emotional landscape, drawing the reader into the very heart of the crime. As Thóra unlocks each strand of the web connecting past and present, the power of history takes on more importance, magnifying the scope of past horrific deeds. Attorney and divorced mother Thóra Gudmundsdóttir adds a richness to this work of suspense beyond just the crime itself. Her feet-on-the ground approach to the crime heightens the suspense while also allowing a bit of humor as relief from the shocking crimes. The unfolding story of her sometimes mundane family conflicts provides a stark contrast to the family history she researchs. MY SOUL TO TAKE creates a startling portrayal of evil past and present. A superb, satisfying ending completes this chilling work of suspense. This reader is most anxious for the release of the author's next novel. Brava!
   
   COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS



2. An intriguing murder mystery in the beautiful landscape of Iceland. It
   is haunting and fun at the same time. I highly recommend it.



3. I purchased this book because of it's setting in Iceland written by an Icelander. I will visit this country soon, and I wanted to get some literary visuals to prepare me for this trip. The novel is well written, and, honestly, could be in any setting in the US. I enjoyed it for the story, and I enjoyed it for the peek at Iceland.



4. I am a recent fan of Icelandic Mystery novels. This is the first one that I have read by this author. It led to another and probably several more in the near future. The icelandic lanscape provides a stark, bleak, and foreboding background to the secrets and crimes that can occur within families. It is written with grace, intelligence and a dash of humor. Kudos to the author and the translator.



5. This was a new author to me and she's fantastic! The story was well-paced, kept your interest and had lots of twists and turns. I will have to get more of her past books because now I want to read them all. She really relates her main character to everyday people with children, ex-spouse problems and work problems. The parts with her secretary really cracked me up (maybe because I am a secretary too)! Just loads of fun and gave up tv for several nights to finish it. Enjoy!

5 comments about Last Rituals: A Novel of Suspense.

1. Meet Thora Gudmundsdottir, an attorney and divorced mother of two, a teenage son and a six-year-old daughter. As if her life is not hectic enough, she receives a phone call from a German woman whose son has been killed at the local university. Amelia Guntlieb wants to hire Gudmundsdottir to investigate the death of her son, as she and her husband do not believe the police have investigated it thoroughly and further believe they have the wrong man in custody. Gudmundsdottir agrees to think about taking the case and she is to meet with a German man, Matthew Reich, who works for the Guntlieb family in order to ascertain more about the victim and the case. She, of course, accepts the case and will work closely with Reich for the remainder of the novel.
   
   Once she takes the case she starts to find how just how strange the victim, Harald Guntlieb, really was. He was enrolled in the graduate program at the university in the history department and his field of expertise was witch burnings in Iceland and on the mainland. As Gudmundsdottir and Reich delve into Harald's past more they find he was into the dark arts and on a relentless search for an old book entitled The Witches' Hammer. They investigate his friends but they all seem to have an air tight alibi for the night of Harald's murder.
   
   This is an exciting who-done-it book along with a great cast of characters. If you like murder mysteries you won't want to miss this book. I can hardly wait to start her next novel.



2. Thora Gudmundsdottir (have I mentioned how fascinated I am by the Icelandic patronymic naming system?) is very... normal. She's a lawyer, but not the usual sort you find in crime novels. She specializes in contractual law. When a German woman offers her more than her yearly salary to find out who really murdered her son, Thora finds she really can't refuse. After all, she's a divorced mother of two whose car is in the shop, yet again. Thora is matched up with Matthew Reich, who works for the family of the murdered young man. Thora and Matthew start out awkwardly, but soon grow into an easy companionship that pulls you through this story of witchcraft and rituals and bitterness and jealousy. I doubt we'll see more of Matthew later in the series, but I wouldn't mind it. I liked the simplicity and realness of Thora, and I look forward to meeting her again.



3. "Yrsa Sigurdardottir is excellent writer from Iceland. Her first book to be released in the US is 'LAST RITUALS: A Tale of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft and Modern Murder.' Thora Gudmundsdottir is a single mother of two and a struggling attorney who is approached by the German parents of an exchange student. The police have arrested a suspect in the murder of their son but they don't believe the police have the right person. They are willing to pay Thora a significant amount of money if she concentrates on finding the person really responsible.
   
   "She is soon joined in her investigation by Matthew Reich, a German also hired by the victim's parents. As they investigate they discover that the murder is connected to Iceland's very dark, mythic past. The victim was very interested in Iceland's history of witchcraft and the hunts for the practitioners most likely because these witches were men.
   
   "This is an excellent story begging to be read straight through to the end but it is more than a bit grisly. I scanned the details. I think the difference between a story like this and a Hannibal Lector story is that the latter smacks everyone in the face with their vulnerability. The victim in this case has gone willingly into a past that may or may not be real.
   
   "A second book in the series is being released in May and I am looking forward to it, grisly or not.
   "Beth"



4. I am a fan of Scandinavian thrillers/police procedurals and have enjoyed all the works of Karin Fossum (such as The Indian Bride (Inspector Sejer Mysteries) and Black Seconds (An Inspector Sejer Mystery)), Arnaldur Indridason's The Draining Lake: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller), and recently Johan Theorin's The Darkest Room: A Novel and Echoes from the Dead. There are many other Scandinavian authors that are also good such as Asa Larssen, Stieg Larssen, Mari Jungstedt, Henning Mankell, and so on. When I came across the two translated works by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardottir, I thought I'd give them a try.
   
   "Last Rituals" has an interesting premise - recently divorced, single mom Thora Gudmundsdottir finds herself in a financial pickle as she struggles to pay the bills and provide for her two children, 16-year-old son Gylfi and a young daughter. Though she works as a partner in a law firm, the practice is small and not a financial success. So, when a certain Frau Guntlieb from Germany calls upon Thora's services with the promise of lucrative fees, Thora's interest in piqued. She is asked to help investigate the circumstances surrounding Harald Guntlieb's murder (Frau Guntlieb's son), a grad student at the local university who was found killed with both his eyes plucked out (interestingly, the eyes are nowhere to be found). Thora is assisted in her efforts by investigator Matthew Reich (who works for the Guntlieb family). The pair start off with a certain amount of animosity on Thora's part, but the relationship gradually thaws out. As the pair investigate Harald's life and his inner circle of friends, Thora also has to deal with some domestic issues surrounding her son.
   
   The story itself is interesting, and the secret life of Harald Guntlieb makes for fascinating reading - especially the themes of witchcraft, occult, etc. However, the novel reads like some sort of academic treatise on the subject - numerous pages are devoted to descriptions of Harald's field of interest, and facts about medieval torture, witchcraft, etc. which bogged down the pace of the story. This is not a fast-paced novel of suspense, but a very slowly simmering whodunit which takes such a long time setting the premise that it almost lost my interest. I only persevered because of the rather interesting plot and also because after plodding through the first half of the novel, I just had to discover how everything turns out. The slow way in which the story unfolds may also be attributed to translation problems - this novel is translated from the Icelandic, and though I'm not familiar with the language, the novel does read rather awkwardly, sounding stilted in many places. I do not find this to be the case with the Swedish procedurals which have been translated into English.
   
   On the whole, I would say this is an intriguing investigative mystery for its subject matter, but poorly paced, and plodding for the most part. I am still going to give Ms. Sigurdardottir's other novel a try to see if there's an improvement, but I would certainly recommend the works of authors mentioned at the beginning of this review over this.



5. Lawyer and single mother Thóra Gudmundsdóttir is contacted by Matthew Reich, an ex-German police officer, for help. A wealthy German family's son has been studying at university in Reykjavík, Iceland. His body was found with his eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest. His family doesn't believe that the Reykjavík police have the right man in custody. Since Thóra's law practice is struggling, she needs the money and agrees to conduct her own investigation.
   
   It quickly comes to light that the murdered student was studying Iceland's history of torture, execution and witch hunts, and the more that Thóra and Reich investigate, the more likely it seems that his studies played a part in his murder.
   
   I was greatly anticipating this book. One of the reasons why I love reading mysteries set in other countries is because I'm an armchair traveler. I love learning about other countries, and a feeling of place can add so much to a story. Sadly, there was very little sense of place in Last Rituals, and the plot didn't have much that was new either.
   
   What I did enjoy a great deal was the character of Thóra, her dual careers of lawyer and mother, her dedication to both, her stubbornness, and her sense of humor that would flash unexpectedly and make me laugh. If not for Thóra, I doubt very much that I would read the next book in the series. Thóra sparkled to such a degree that I know I will be reading more about her in future.

5 comments about Voices: A Reykjavik Thriller.

1. While not as intense and action-packed as your typical American thriller, this Icelandic procedural stills holds one's interest and provides a worthy read. The book takes us into the world of record collectors and child stars. A murder takes place and intuitive but woesome Reykjavik detective Erlendur wades through all the egos, psychologies and disfunctions presented by a raft of characters to solve it. I don't know how many times I changed my mind predicting the killer's identity, as Indridason kept pulling the rug out from under me. The ending is a bit of a surprise and when it's over, you know you've read a satisfying police thriller that was worth the time. I look forward to reading the author's latest effort.



2. Iceland is a nasty place as portrayed in the 'thriller' novels of Arnufur Indridason - gloomy, gritty, petty - and its folk have a taste for drugs, prostitution, and confrontational behavior. If I were the Director of Tourism in Iceland, I tell you, I'd pay Indridason a handsome bonus to write about some other country. This novel Voices, the third in a series featuring Police Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson, is the nastiest yet, with a lurid crime that leads to more and more perverse ugliness. Poor Erlendur is confronting another Christmas, that joyless holiday which he tries to ignore but which inevitably dredges up thoughts of his childhood tragedy. Most of the novel takes place in a hotel -- a tourist destination -- staffed by repulsive and evil-tempered goons. There's a good chance that one of them murdered Santa in flagrante in the hotel basement.
   
   The first two novels in the series - Jar City & Silence of the Grave - were every bit as gritty and sleasy, but some half-concealed humanity in Inspector Erlendur made one empathize with the poor man and care about his agonies with his drug-addled daughter and alienated son. Well... in Voices, I could still squeeze out a little sympathy for Erlendur, but only because by now he's almost a black-sheep uncle. If you haven't read the prvious two novels, I truly doubt you'll get past chapter five of this one. One has to wonder, by the way, why Erlendur hasn't discovered prozac or celexa, in a country where 'drugs' are not unavailable. Is there a cultural prejudice against relief from depression except illegally?
   
   And there's one glaring flaw in the none-too-credible mystery plot. The victim Santa was a boy soprano of great musical promise, whose voice "broke" without any warning in the middle of a showcase concert. After this sudden onslaught of puberty, he never recovered any musical talent. The experience essentially destroyed him and his family. Unfortunately, this is utterly implausible. Boys' voices do change in puberty, and the period of 'transition' can be problematic vocally, but such an instantaneous collapse of all vocal training is absurd. Now I know why lawyers snarl at Perry Mason and other 'courtroom' novels, and doctors smirk at 'hospital' dramas on the tube. Actually, I've never read a novel about musicians that showed much sense of how "we" get through life.



3. This is a great book. It engaged my interest from the beginning through the final, 313th, page. It's the fourth Arnaldur Indridason novel that I've read. I would be hard pressed to compare this with the other three. Perhaps there's more contemplation and less action than in the others.
   
   The central story is that of a hotel doorman/handyman who lives in a dingy little room in the hotel basement. About a week before Christmas, dressed as Santa, he is stabbed to death in his room. He was getting ready to serve as Santa at a hotel party.
   
   Leading the police team investigating the murder is Inspector Erlendur, Indridason's star. Erlender does not roam far in this book; he checks into a room at the hotel and uses it as his base. He gets to know several of the hotel employees.
   
   I don't want to say too much more. I don't want to spoil this excellent mystery. The reader learns a lot about the victim, whose life took a pivotal turn when he was twelve, some thirty-six years before his death.
   
   There are many fascinating twists and turns, particularly at the end. Indridason is a master at character development. His prose is stark and powerful.
   
   Highly recommended



4. Not your ordinary, scripted story that is so predictable. I have read this author six times and each time it is an interesting read.



5. Indridason is getting better by the book. The hotel handiman and Christmas Santa is killed in his hotel room, and nobody seems to care. Erlendur has to decide whether a hotel employee or guest had a reason to kill him or whether it came from the outside altogether. As he gets into the case, he realizes he has a lot of suspects. The reason I gave it a four was because I thought something that was said ought to have made it kind of clear about the gentleman who was killed. Yet it didn't click with Erlendur until well after. Again, Erlendur's daughter is aggravating in that she talks to Erlender like he's less than human, and has added other people as well in this book. He is making the main characters more human. I found that in his first two books, they were little more than stick people. I think he was in to much of a hurry trying to make it right in the first book. I think he has calmed down now and his writing is flowing more. It doesn't seem so rehearsed. He is starting to expand about the Iceland climate and land. I have decided that I am going to get his next book. I am glad I kept reading, because I can see his progress with each book.