by Jón Kalman Stefansson
The writer is a formidable story teller, a poet and a philosopher.
In this book, short and dense, he draws his inspiration from his life as a fisherman and a librarian.
The 1st part , in the style of social realism, is the story of these courageous fishermen setting off, before dawn, generally in February, on a fishing campain off Iceland, in the most hostile surroundings. There is the cold that grips the bodies and the threat of drowning if a fisherman cannot swim . « And the boat becomes a coffin. »
This is the HELL of the title : « Hell is to be dead and to realize that you did not care for life while you had the chance to do so. »
This is all about the uncertainty of life and the destructive power of Nature. Men have to look at life face to face and take it as it is.
Stefänson keeps refering to « Paradise lost » by Milton ( 1828) , the red thread of the book.
« Is it a loss of Paradise to die ? » « The only thing we can do is hope that no life is wasted without purpose. »
The 2d part is more philosophical and optimistic : what is universal is the quest for happiness, embodied by the character simply called « the BOY » .
After a terrible ordeal at sea , he no longer wants to be a fisherman. He wants to accomplish something else in his life, learn languages, see the world, read a thousand books.
Happiness is simple , is to be found in simple things like friendship and books.
« Books, one probably needs nothing else ».
This book is also a description of social classes, the place of women and the scourge of alcoholism in this small and remote community.
The book is full of POETRY :
« Snow flakes , they are white, cut like angels’ wings. »
« April come to us with a 1st aid kit and tries to heal the wounds of winter. »
This is the Heaven of the title.
We unanimously loved the book, very restrained in style, gripping, thought provoking . A writer worth discovering.
Anne Van Calster
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