2020 Longlist
Öraefi: The Wasteland
Translated from the Icelandic by Lytton Smith
ABOUT
THE BOOK
After a grueling solo expedition on Vatnajökull Glacier, Austrian toponymist Bernhardt Fingerberg returns to civilization, barely alive, and into the care of Dr. Lassi. The doctor, suspicious of his story, attempts to discover his real motives for venturing into the treacherous wastelands of Iceland – but the secrets she unravels may be more dangerous than they’re worth. Was he really researching place names out there, or retracing the footsteps of a 20-year-old crime involving someone very close to him?
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Lytton
Smith
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
A sprawling and fiercely inventive novel, masterfully woven by Sigurðsson in his unique voice. Reykjavík City Library, Iceland
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Country
Iceland
Original Language
Icelandic
Publisher
Pushkin Press
Translator
Lytton Smith
Translation
Translated from the Icelandic by Lytton Smith
Nominating Library