The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION ESPECIALLY FOR ALL 🇮🇸✨🇨🇦✨🇺🇸ICELANDIC HERITAGE and IcelandicRoots.com members; and/or ANYONE CURIOUS ABOUT or contemplating a visit to Iceland (hint: Go! You will not be disappointed😊)Just to reassure you (if you choose to read my review):(1)I only offer a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️compliment if exceptional.(2) I read. I love reading—consistent with one of the advantages of my Canadian-Icelandic Heritage that I was blessed to have been encouraged from early childhood.(2) I have been researching about all aspects of Iceland’s history, literature including the Sagas, poetry and prose as well as a number of excellent books from the scholarly contributions—among my personal favorites: “Song of the Vikings” by Nancy Marie Brown; Iceland Folktales and Legends by Jacqueline Simpson; any book by Magnús Magnússon including “Iceland Saga”; “Wasteland with Words” by Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon; “The Bard of Iceland: Jónas Hallgrímsson. Poet and Scientist” by Dick Ringler Saga (with a personal connection to Jónas thru my Afi—Sumarliði Gudmunður Sigurðurson—á “niðursetningar”, the poorest of the poor, lowest of the low, most pitiful among the 20% of children “fostered out” and “auctioned down” to the lowest bidder or the farm or family who would accept the least amount of money for the child’s care from the local authorities with all children born in the 19th century on farms were expected to work beginning around age 5. In my Afi’s (grandfather’s case)—24/7 Shepard Boy in Noth Iceland. In contrast to the well deserved popularity and fervered zeal of all things Viking these days—growing up, my Afi, like many first generation immigrants to Canada at the turn of the 20th century, did not like to talk about the “Old Country.” When pressed, he would simply say that, “I was the boy nobody loved,” but adding on as positive note, “We are descended from kings!” (isn’t everybody? thru multiple connections Danir Mikillati 180AD/Harald “Fairhair/Ragnar “Loðbok/Hairy Pants” Sigurðsson); and to “Iceland’s most famous poet!” (our ignorant grandchild impression was limited to thinking, “Whatever you say Afi—but isn’t everyone in Iceland a poet? May I have another slice of vinetarta? I’ll pass on the fish balls, thank you.”😊; and late in life learning that Jónas Hallgrímsson’s sister was in my grandfather’s great(x)grandmother—and my rather “better late than never”’realization that for a (literally) dirt poor pauper boy shamed and abused daily—he nevertheless had been taught to read and hung on to a thread of pride and just enough self esteem to survive long, lonely winter days and nights thru stories of the past, especially his great(x) uncle’s poetry and romantic dreams of a better, kinder, more beautiful Iceland—who herself, at that time, was suffering greatly including possession of a collective low self esteem from centuries of Danish and Church oppression.WHY IS THIS DETAIL IMPORTANT TO MY REVIEW?(At this point, I’m assuming only an Icelander or Canadian/American “New Icelander” has chosen to read this far—or, an “Honorary Icelander” by virtue of possessing the ability to read despite my imperfect grammatical explication—I appreciate your application of The Principle of Charity✨.)—- the more personal stories I not only love but have had the privilege to meet and “fall in love”💖 as everyone who meets the World’s Most Dynamic and Beautiful 92 Years Young—Ieda Jónasdóttir Herman—coauthored by her youngest daughter equally blessed and talented daughter—Heidi Herman—have created several books that make for not only very relaxing, but entertaining and informative first hand accounts of Ieda’s life growing up in Iceland, as well as Heidi’s “The Guardians of Iceland and Other Icelandic Folktales,” well suited and well written for an audience of all ages.SO, HOW DOES ANY OF THIS RELATE TO MY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ REVIEW?Contrary to the opinion of many, and to possibly my mistaken impression, if not Icelanders and New Icelanders past (like my grandfather) and many Icelanders and current Icelanders (if nobody other than the Icelandic Tourist Board or designates)—in my opinion, rather than considering the unbelievable depths of poverty, suffering, disease, famine abuse and shame that did not discriminate during the darkest of times Iceland had no choice but to endure—against all odds—they somehow managed to survive. They did what they had to do; what they could do—they survived.My grandfather did not like to talk about Iceland.All my mother said that he would say when pressed, was that he all he remembered was that he was “always cold and hungry.”NOT ONLY DOES ALDA WRITE WITH CLARITY, SIMPLICITY AND TRUTH, BUT WITH A STEPHEN COLBERT GENRE INCLUDING A MOST REFRESHING, OFTEN SELF EFFACING HUMOUR WHEN ADDRESSING HONESTLY AND OPENLY“THINGS THAT MANY PEOPLE PREFER NOT TO TALK ABOUT BECAUSE OF THE DISCOMFORT, PAIN OR EMBARRASSMENT.”Takk Fyrir, Alda!🌻👏🏻👏🏻Thank you, Alda!—for your honesty; for your openness and willingness to approach certain areas that remain sensitive; address subjects that are important to help understand some of the origins of the “quirky” Icelandic proverbs, tales, superstitions, tales, myths and sagas that were lifelines to Icelanders past to survive—alone, cold and hungry—thru merciless winters and natural disasters.Your brief, but to the point comments not forgetting or avoiding the poorest of the poor little pauper children that were not wanted, but nevertheless as imperfect as we in the 21st century may judge, were loved by Iceland they best she could do at that time—revealed more than fifty books I have read searching for some insight and truth that made my grandfather who he was—the kindest, sweetest, most generous, soft spoken, self taught, good natured and good humored man—who never once in his life raised his hand towards his children but did his best to indulge them, spoil them and love them—and his grandchildren.Thank you, Afi, for my mother—Grace Sumarros🌹✨—for my brothers and sisters—for being an example of an unshakeable pragmatic optimist tempered by that uniquely Icelandic POV “Þetta Reddast” and by example demonstrating the unlimited potential of a creative, curious mind with an appetite for books as a passport to a good life; a good chance to the best life possible; and as my mother was fond of saying, “We are never too old to learn.”So Alda, although your brief description of the pitiful life of a niðursetningar ís limited to a few lines—they captured and conveyed the honest but inconvenient truth.You helped me understand by affirming that these children suffered—and only God and Decode Genetics know how many actually survived.But as my retired 86 year old RCMP uncle recently pointed out (by the way—always has and still one good looking...what’s the Icelandic word for “Stud Muffin?”😊)—we of Icelandic descent “have a remarkable ability to heal against the odds.”I’ve kind of taken that for granted.Like my Afi—when I was an ignorant little kid more interested in fishing off the Gimli peer; hanging out in the remnants of his iconic Winnipeg bicycle shop where if you were a kid, “Lidi”/Mr. Matthews (adopted from his step father) would charge 25 cents—but if he fixed it outside the door, he fixed the child’s bike for free.I carried on that family tradition doing housecalls as a rural family doctor.But from medical scientist discovered a love of poetry before I knew nothing about Jónas Hallgrímsson my grandfather referred to (never by name for some unknown reason) who also morphed from scientist to poetry (except in my case I specialize in being totally unexceptional—but at least smart enough, finally, to appreciate “Journey’s End”—and finally—the courage of a little boy nobody loved; the ability of this little boy, like Iceland, to survive against all odds.Thank you to ICELANDICROOTS.COM and continued guidance to navigate thru history with the assistance of Sunna Furstenau and others contributing to Icelandic Roots, as I hope to do as I slowly discover what being an Icelander, a New Icelander, a Canadian Icelander means as I reside in the “remote island” of Tennessee.I seldom, in fact, I have never bothered to take the time to write an extenders review. And I am quite aware few people read beyond the title, subtitles or “first five words” or sentences.Alda: I am simply trying to convey the idea that when you write (applicable to any author, I suppose)—one word; one sentence; one paragraph—can have a major impact. An epiphany for some. Perhaps a revelation. A spark that lights the imagination. The answer to a question nobody wants to ask or talk about.YOUR LITTLE BOOKS ARE BRILLIANT: FUN TO READ; EASY TO READ; A COMBINATION OF CLARITY, BREVITY AND HUMOUR THAT OFFERS AN HONEST AND TRUTHFUL GLIMPSE INTO THE MIND, HEART AND SOUL OF NOT JUST ICELANDERS—BUT ANYONE WHO HAS THE MIND, HEART AND SOUL AND ARE DOING THEIR BEST TO SURVIVE.Iceland did her best to give a foster child a chance.Poverty and hard times beyond my best to fully comprehend...However—my definition of courage and endurance.By analogy—a John McCain example of the human spirit that transcends petty politics and petty men.I am proud to be the grandson of a bastard child.I am proud to be descended from kings and poets and bastards that if not for them, and the grace of God (or proof that God has on e hell of a sense of humor)—I would not be here. Not my nor my children. Or my grandchildren. Alive and thriving.Thank you, Alda, for giving me pause to think—a little sadly of all the suffering that Icelanders perhaps best embodied in the life and spirit of my grandfather, had to endure that ultimately—gave life and opportunity to so many.These foster children and all the unsung heroes and small, anonymous acts of kindness and sporadic generosity that were never documented and are lost to history should be acknowledged with admiration and pride.Thank you for reminding us in your “not so little” Little Books.I apologize for not editing grammatical, autocorrect or spelling errors.I truly hope you enjoy a measure of satisfaction from my attempt within the limitations of a 2D text to convey my gratitude and compliments.Randall Willis MD FACEP (retired) -forget the above acronyms and subtitute“Living example of it is never too late to learn.”😊Cheers and Bléss Bléss

Did you know that there is a compound verb in the Icelandic language (borið út) that literally means “left outside somewhere to die”? That this was something common enough in the Iceland of centuries past to warrant the creation of its own verb?This is just one of the many, many fascinating facts presented in Alda Sigmundsdottir’s wonderful work The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days. Consisting of 50 short essays, the reader is taken on a cultural journey of how Icelanders eked out a living on this often-harsh island centuries ago, covering their daily habits, beliefs, and idiosyncrasies (and there are plenty).If you’re like me and have read a number of the Icelandic Sagas, and wondered just what details might have been left out of those tales, well, look no further. Well-researched and written in a light, engaging tone (there is plenty of humor in this book), The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days is a welcome addition for anyone interested in the history of Icelandic culture and folklore.

My great-grandparents came from Denmark, and family lore says that one relative went exploring in Greenland. So my kids used to say we really came from Iceland. Because my 4th son in particular loved this claim, I bought him this book. It's a nice summary of life in Iceland before the most recent ice age, when people lived in large communal turf houses, and reputedly the land was covered in forests. This book is well written and light hearted, while still being informative. It is a relatively small paperback, thus the nomenclature "Little Book" is appropriate.

The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days is an enlightening view of the life our Icelandic ancestors led. The crowded conditions in homes and the legal structure of society made life difficult. If that is the only life you know, it may not seem as hard as when I compare it to the way we live today. The struggles with land and climate resulted in interesting superstitions to explain things, especially the death superstitions.The stories are well written and keep you interested in the next one. This is a good read.

I read this prior to a trip to Iceland. I like the writer’s style. It is very easy to read. I have read several of her other books as well and find this book fits in with them well.

I love this Little Book of Icelanders in the old days. Probably a bit of a send up, it was interesting, and well written, but then this Author always does good work, and I do like to read her works. I have all of her books so far. This one takes the reader on a bit of a journey back to the early days in Iceland. I loved it. Kindle version. Well worth a read.

A wonderful little book. Funny but also proud and affectionate. I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewer who praised the epilogue. What comes through strongly is the story or feeling of hope within the Icelandic people. My only complaint is that the book could be longer!! Also, there was virtually no mention of music, and yet - if my experience is anything to go by - it is the seemingly endless parade of brilliant musicians and composers that both fascinates and delights millions of people around the world: Sigur Ros; Bjork; Emiliana Torrini; Olafur Arnaulds; Johann Johansson; Bardi Johannsonn; Asgeir; Amiina; Jon Leifs ... what the heck is in the water up there!?

A great "little book" to accompany several big books.I lived for two years in Iceland and I appreciate this additional insight into the living condition of the Icelanders over the centuries, particularly during the coldest times of the "Little Ice Age" when wood for fuel was almost nonexistent.

I have just read this book in Iceland, apart from being fun it has helped me understand some things related to the way social order worked in Iceland-especially the selling off and splitting up of families when a husband died and sending the widow and her children to work on farms (not usually together) for no pay as women could not earn a wage! This would have helped, and does retrospectively understand the classic novel by Laxness 'Independent People' if you plan to read this great book, read this little one first, it explains people that lived in a croft a long while back

I'm obsessed by Iceland and all things Icelandic, and this book was a fantastic description of the lives of Icelanders up until not too long ago. I found it incredibly sad that if a farmer died, the family was forcibly split up, even if the widow was capable of carrying on by herself, with the widow and children sent on their own to live with other families, supported by the District, and the expense accrued as a debt which the widow could never pay off because women were not paid. The book highlights how tough people had to be to survive in the harsh conditions against which there was little defence, and shows why the graveyards are full of people in their 90s and even 100s - survival of the fittest in action.

I enjoy how Alda manages to be informative about the history of Iceland while keeping it light and good humoured. She manages to give you a taste of this rich culture and leaves you fascinated with Iceland!

This is a really easy book to read, the Author has a real casual fun and light hearted approach in this book that is both informative and humorous. I'd recommend this to anyone alike myself who loves Iceland and wants to know about the stories and tales of the ancestors of such a great nation.

It's so funny! I loved every word of it :) And I want to go back to Iceland and see everything, search for little people and stuff like that :)