This is my first read of 2023 and it's really rather excellent.
Cross posting from my GeoLibrary blog.
It's a book about the importance of the Elves / hidden folk of Iceland, but it's about so much more.
It's about the hidden folk of course.
I had a look at previous coverage of the book, and there is a useful related article here.
The book explores the stories surrounding the Elves or Huldufolk which are part of the experience for many visitors and in the spiel of tour guides. The relationship between these beliefs and other aspects of Icelandic culture are explored in this book. There are many stories here which will have been told before, but many others which are new.
You can read a preview of the first 20+ pages of the book on Google Books - just Google the title of the book.
The book is excellent and roams far beyond the theme in the title, exploring mythology, landscapes, the meaning of place, the history of the country, volcanic eruptions and a lot else besides. It is very much recommended.
It has also provided a large number of additional avenues to explore and books to buy (un)fortunately, with books I'd not heard of before.
My copy was published by Pegasus Books in 2022.
Hardback, 328pp
ISBN: 9781639362288
An interview with the author here:
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