Tomas Jonsson, Bestseller

Gudberger Bergsson, Lytton Smith

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English

Open Letter
11 July 2017

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Fiction in translation

"""Gubergur Bergsson achieved success with his novel Tmas Jnsson, Bestseller, which shocked Icelandic readers in innumerable ways, lashing out as it does at the Icelandic society of the post-war years for its cultural confusion, amorality, and hypocrisy. The main character is a grumpy old man who speaks and writes in various styles, grumbles and babbles and criticizes everything."" -Dagn Kristjnsdttir

A retired, senile bank clerk confined to his basement apartment, Tmas Jnsson decides that, since memoirs are all the rage, he's going to write his own-a sure bestseller-that will also right the wrongs of contemporary Icelandic society. Egoistic, cranky, and digressive, Tmas blasts away while relating pick-up techniques, meditations on chamber pot use, ways to assign monetary value to noise pollution, and much more. His rants parody and subvert the idea of the memoir-something that's as relevant today in our memoir-obsessed society as it was when the novel was first published.

Considered by many to be the ""Icelandic Ulysses"" for its wordplay, neologisms, structural upheaval, and reinvention of what's possible in Icelandic writing, Tmas Jnsson, Bestseller was a bestseller, heralding a new age of Icelandic literature.

Gubergur Bergsson is the author of twenty-one books, from novels to children's literature, and a translator from Spanish into Icelandic. He has received the Icelandic Literary Prize and the Nordic Prize.

Lytton Smith is the author of The All-Purpose Magical Tent, and has translated works from Bragi lafsson, Jn Gnarr, and Kristin marsdttir, among others."

By: Gudberger Bergsson
Translated by: Lytton Smith
Imprint: Open Letter
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9781940953601
ISBN 10: 194095360X
Pages: 500
Publication Date: 11 July 2017
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Gubergur Bergsson is the author of twenty-one books, from novels to children's literature, and a translator from Spanish into Icelandic. He has received the Icelandic Literary Prize and the Nordic Prize. His 1966 novel Tmas Jnsson, Bestseller is considered Iceland's first modernist novel.Lytton Smith is a poet and translator, and a founding member of Blind Tiger Poetry. His book, The All-Purpose Magical Tent was published by Nightboat. His translations include works from Bragi lafsson, Jn Gnarr, Kristin marsdttir, and Gubergur Bergsson.

Reviews for Tomas Jonsson, Bestseller

Bergsson is known in his homeland for his translations of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and the debt to Garcia Marquez is clear in this sparsely sensual, idyllic fable of country matters. Publishers Weekly