Halldór Laxness
Halldór Laxness Kiljan [ haltour c ʰ ɪljan laxsnɛs ] ( born Halldór Guðjónsson; born April 23, 1902 in Reykjavík, † February 8, 1998 in Reykjalundur at mosfellsbær ) was an Icelandic writer and Nobel Prize for Literature.
Life
Halldór Laxness was born Halldór Guðjónsson. His parents were Guðjón Helgi Helgason and Sigríður Halldórsdóttir. Since he came from a wealthy family, he was able to complete his education by extensive travel. On the continent he learned Catholicism know and converted. The name Kiljan he chose in his conversion to Catholicism, on January 6, 1923 at the Benedictine monastery of St. Maurice de Clervaux in Luxembourg, after the Irish Martyrs and Saints Kilian. The surname Laxness he took to the court Laxnes (Eng. "Salmon Peninsula " ) to at mosfellsbær, where he had grown up.
In 1930 he married Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir, 1945 began his second marriage with Auður Sveinsdóttir and he moved his permanent residence in Gljúfrasteinn at mosfellsbær. His granddaughter Auður Jónsdóttir is also a writer.
Works
Longer time was Laxness as followers of Marxist- communist teachings. This is used for example in his novel nuclear station (1948 ) for expression. In this novel, as a result, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, he turns vigorously against the deployment of U.S. missiles in Iceland.
Laxness ' trips to the Continent are in his early novel The Great Weaver of Kashmir (1927 ), which also has influences of expressionism and surrealism and the other in sound occasionally reminiscent of the early Thomas Mann recognize.
Other major works are Salka Valka of Laxness (1931 /32), his own master ( 1934-36 ) and World Light ( 1937-40 ). In his own master is about a stubborn peasants who wants despite adverse circumstances do not give up its independence ( the Icelandic title is Sjálfstætt Folk, German: " independent people "). In light of the world he depicts the life of a man from humble, who really wants to be a writer and has therefore to fight against many prejudices of his surroundings.
A popular reference Laxness ' is the novel The Bell Iceland (Icelandic: Íslandsklukkan, 1943-46 ). Based on historical figures from the period around 1700, such as the linguist Árni Magnússon only temporarily happy love story between the scholar and manuscript collector Arnas Arnaeus and the beautiful Judge daughter Snæfríður therein is firstly described, secondly, the over decade-long lawsuit against the washed with all waters farmers Jón, who is accused of murder and wanders on the run for years by Europe. This part of the novel reminded of famous picaresque novels such as Grimmelshausen Simplicissimus Teutsch. Both parts are linked together and to the social and political situation Islands in the relevant time closely; Arnaeus ' struggle for the preservation of Icelandic manuscripts and regulatory compliance repeatedly raises questions about the identity and legitimacy of Islands its social order.
Laxness still wrote many other novels, including The Happy Warrior (1952 ), in which he demonstrated the negative sides of Gunnarshaugur partly satirical - not necessarily to the delight of his countrymen. The book was written in deliberately archaic language and is considered by many to be the greatest parody Icelandic language. In the late 1950s he turned away from communism. In his later novels The fish Concerto ( 1957), The Paradise Regained (1960) and the glacier (1968 ) is also the social critique not so much. Laxness studied in his late work for new narrative forms that play mainly with the problems of narrative perspective. Instead of the social and religious criticism Topics Daoist topics now found their way into his books.
Some of his novels have been made into a film: The Fish Concert (Icelandic: Brekkukotsannáll, 1973) and the new-found paradise ( Paradísarheimt, 1980) by director Rolf Hädrich, nuclear station ( Atómstöðin, 1984) of Þorsteinn Jónsson and 1989 the glacier ( Kristnihald undir Jökli ) and 1999 The good lady ( Ungfrúin Goda above Husid ) by his daughter Guðný Halldórsdóttir.
His oeuvre also comprises numerous other novels and plays, and he was frequently engaged in journalism. His works have been translated into many other languages .
Awards
Halldór Laxness is considered the first Icelandic author of modern times, who achieved world fame. He received the 1955 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Among the other honors Laxness ' include the World Peace Prize in 1953 and 1969, the Sonning Prize. He received honorary doctorates from the universities of Turku (1968), Reykjavik (1972 ), the University of Edinburgh (1977 ) and the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (1982 ), the latter on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Reception in Germany
Due to its long time communism friendly attitude Laxness was in the GDR more attention than in the Federal Republic of Germany. His works of the postwar period were first translated in the GDR. In the 1990s, there was a total German Renaissance works of Laxness ', triggered by a factory edition of Göttingen, Steidl Verlag, partly with new translations by Hubert Seelow.