From the Mouth of the Whale

In 1635 the earth is still the centre of the universe, the heart has two chambers, birds hatch from seaweed, unicorn horns are a coveted luxury and stones are thought good for healing. The writer and image-maker Jónas Pálmason the Learned is convicted of spreading sorcery and banished to an island. There he recalls his life: the bleak aftermath of the Reformation, the heroic laying of a ghost on Snæfjallaströnd, secret worship of the Virgin Mary, the killing of Basque whalers in the Westfjords, and hardship in a time when love of one's neighbour had been thrown overboard.

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About the book

Form

Novel

Length

239 pages in the original

Genres

Historical (assigned by AI)

Set in

Iceland, 17th century

First published

2008 by Bjartur

Author's age

46 when first published

ISBN

9789979657477 (original)

9781846590832 (Telegram, United Kingdom)

9780374159030 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, United States)