Guðmundur Andri Thorsson

Bogens åbning er både smuk og poetisk. Fortællerstemmen kommer ind fra havet sammen med vinden, den glider langsomt hen over stranden og ind mellem husene i den lille fiskerby Valeyri på den islandske nordkyst. Sidste kapitel er en spejling, fortællerstemmen drager videre, og de knap 200 sider ind i mellem udgør portrættet af byen.

Omdrejningspunktet er Kata, der cykler fra sit hjem til forsamlingshuset, hvor hun skal stå for en koncert med det lokale kor. Undervejs passerer hun bogens øvrige personer, der enten selv skal til koncerten eller ser hende cykle forbi. Hvert kapitel er viet til en historie, der godt kan handle om flere personer. Det er særligt tydeligt i et centralt afsnit om byens selvbestaltede elite, der består af to ægtepar, der er bundet sammen i et skæbnefællesskab, selvom de bagtaler hinanden på kryds og tværs, og der er da heller ikke meget at råbe hurra for. Det ene ægteskab er dødt, og både bankmanden Oli og den tidligere direktør for fiskeindustrien Johs har været dybt involveret i den spekulationskapitalisme, der brød sammen i forbindelse med finanskrisen. Thorsson er også aktiv politiker, og man mærker det kritiske bid, når det lakonisk konstateres, at statskassen overtager gælden, og at direktørerne bevarer deres positioner.

I det hele taget hænger den dybe økonomiske krise som en dyne over romanen. Det ses ikke så meget i individuel armod, men kommer mere til udtryk i, at næsten alle personer har gennemlevet alvorlige traumer, lever i ensomhed og nærmest uden håb for fremtiden. Samtidig er Valeyri en del af den fjerneste islandske provins. De unge er nødt til at rejse væk for at få uddannelse og job i Reykjavik, og hvis de vender tilbage er det enten med ar på sjælen eller for at bruge deres forældres huse i sommerferien. Der er mænd martret af mislykkede forhold til kvinder, kvinder, der forelsker sig i mænd, som ikke kan blive hos familien, og mænd, der er blevet misbrugt som børn.

Det er ikke videre muntert, men nogle har trods alt formået at pakke deres problemer ind i daglige rutiner, og som litteratur betragtet formår Thorsson at lave en relativt nuanceret persontegning på de få sider, der er til hver fortælling. Der er klicheer imellem – det var f.eks. lovligt nemt at gøre præsten til fordrukken ludoman – men en bys identitet afhænger også af dens originaler.

Romanen fungerer som portræt af en by, selvom jeg havde den samme oplevelse, som jeg tit har med korte noveller: Personerne blev sluppet igen, så snart jeg var begyndt at finde dem interessante.… (mehr)

Stories and Secrets of an Icelandic fishing village.
Review of the English translation paperback (2018) of the Icelandic language original "Valeyrarvalsinn" (The Waltz of Valeyri) (2011)

The short story novel made up of vignettes of separate households in a smaller village or town seems like fertile ground to able to introduce a wide variety of characters in individual tales with the extra writing challenge of tying them all together into one overall story arc. However, the structure hasn't been used very often and the only classic example that comes to mind is Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio (1919).

Some recent examples that I can think of are Jon McGregor's The Reservoir Tapes (2018) and, to some degree, the continuing series of books by Elizabeth Strout that centre on the Crosby, Maine town featured in Olive Kitteridge (2008) and presumably also in Olive, Again (2019 - not yet published as of this writing).

Guðmundur Andri Thorsson sets his short story novel in the fictional Icelandic fishing village of Valeyri. The original Icelandic title described the interactions of the inhabitants as The Waltz of Valeyri but the English translation title And the Wind Sees All focuses on the observer role introduced in the first sentence.

The tie-in story arc is that village choir conductor Kata is cycling past various households on her way to the village hall where an evening concert and celebration will take place and where most of the inhabitants will sing or join in. As she passes each window, the household observes her and this is the cue for their stories to be told. Several of the stories have secrets or unresolved questions which are not answered until several stories later. The book is also structured in a cyclical manner whereby the concluding sentence of the novel can lead you back to re-reading the beginning of the book. That is actually recommended as that 1st chapter provides an answer to a question that you may not have picked up on in your first read-through, i.e. I think the book rewards re-reading. I also think that on a re-read I would write notes on the names of characters and their roles, as there where times where I was getting a bit muddled with the unfamiliar Icelandic names (which are blessedly shortened here, but still).

Overall, I enjoyed And the Wind Sees All very much and would hope to see future translations of the author. The translation team of Andrew Cauthery and Björg Árnadóttir did an excellent job as the reading flows very well.

Trivia and Links
This book was added to the fast growing List of Books with Fictional Characters Who Love Arvo Pärt. That is a side project of mine to document what I think is the rather uncanny phenomenon of references to the music of the popular real life Estonian classical composer Arvo Pärt appearing in fictional works.… (mehr)

If you like a plot driven story, this is not for you. Kata is cycling to the village hall, wearing her polka dot dress, for the concert this evening. As she cycles down the street, she is seen by the various people in the village and each of them has a chapter in which you experience their inner thoughts, their back story or such like. It is a snap shot of a disparate group of people, some of them have quite different thoughts about the same subject or relationship. Very little is brought to resolution, very little happens in the short duration of Kata's ride, however it is all told in beautiful prose. There is a rhythm to it, a sense of time passing and feelings of longing and regret. Kata, the thread that ties the tale together, remains elusive throughout. One wors summary would be lyrical.… (mehr)