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A review by leftistsquidward
The Atom Station by Halldór Laxness
4.0
One of the better translated works I’ve read this year, the Atom Station tells the story of Ugla, a northern country girl who takes up work at the house of one of Iceland’s most powerful members of parliament during a controversial Cold War sale of Icelandic land for an American atomic station.
Right off the bat this is unapologetically anti-capitalist in its satire, and the further you read on the easier it is to predict how bad the “reception” part its wiki page will be. Not to say it tanked, the book was a financial success and sold out on day 1 of publication, but between Iceland and America’s governments Laxness had a pretty shit time off the back of this release.
What really stands out here, however, is Laxness’s personality. Even in its translation it’s so easy to feel a distinct and confident voice coming alive off the pages. Every character is exactly the kind of weirdo or charmer they should be, and Ugla’s transformation upon experiencing such new and eye opening things is wonderfully done.
The Atom Station is a pretty decent starter for foreigners on Icelandic culture, both modern and classic. Laxness covers here several perceptions of the great Icelandic Sagas, famous folk tales and even the Nation’s Darling: Jónas Hallgrímsson. On the modern side we also get satirical commentary on the different sets of criminals (ones who end up in the streets of Parliament and ones who end up in Reykjavik’s famous jail), as well as other bits and pieces covering protest, class and conservatism in Iceland.
It’s not without major flaws, particularly dated ones. Laxness writes Ugla relatively well, though there are moments that scream “male author writing woman” in a way that can take you out of it quite quickly, not to mention a few of the satirical tropes used here that aren’t great and become slightly repetitive, such as the book instinctively designating fat = rich and leaning on that cheap joke multiple times.
With all that said, a book from the 40s being this harsh toward the bourgeoisie and selling so well is real impressive, and reading through it you can tell how it achieved this: this story is endlessly fun and a translation couldn’t stop me from feeling how much Laxness writes like he’s cut from a different, funnier, cloth. Was a big fan overall!
Right off the bat this is unapologetically anti-capitalist in its satire, and the further you read on the easier it is to predict how bad the “reception” part its wiki page will be. Not to say it tanked, the book was a financial success and sold out on day 1 of publication, but between Iceland and America’s governments Laxness had a pretty shit time off the back of this release.
What really stands out here, however, is Laxness’s personality. Even in its translation it’s so easy to feel a distinct and confident voice coming alive off the pages. Every character is exactly the kind of weirdo or charmer they should be, and Ugla’s transformation upon experiencing such new and eye opening things is wonderfully done.
The Atom Station is a pretty decent starter for foreigners on Icelandic culture, both modern and classic. Laxness covers here several perceptions of the great Icelandic Sagas, famous folk tales and even the Nation’s Darling: Jónas Hallgrímsson. On the modern side we also get satirical commentary on the different sets of criminals (ones who end up in the streets of Parliament and ones who end up in Reykjavik’s famous jail), as well as other bits and pieces covering protest, class and conservatism in Iceland.
It’s not without major flaws, particularly dated ones. Laxness writes Ugla relatively well, though there are moments that scream “male author writing woman” in a way that can take you out of it quite quickly, not to mention a few of the satirical tropes used here that aren’t great and become slightly repetitive, such as the book instinctively designating fat = rich and leaning on that cheap joke multiple times.
With all that said, a book from the 40s being this harsh toward the bourgeoisie and selling so well is real impressive, and reading through it you can tell how it achieved this: this story is endlessly fun and a translation couldn’t stop me from feeling how much Laxness writes like he’s cut from a different, funnier, cloth. Was a big fan overall!