The Heart of Man

After coming through the blizzard that almost cost them everything, Jens and the boy are far from home, in a fishing community at the edge of the world.

Taken in by the village doctor, the boy once again has the sense of being brought back from the grave. But this is a strange place, with otherworldly inhabitants, including flame-haired Alfheidur, who makes him wonder whether it is possible to love two women at once; he had believed his heart was lost to Ragnheidur, the daughter of the wealthy merchant in the village to which he must now inexorably return.

Set in the awe-inspiring wilderness of the extreme north, The Heart of Man is a profound exploration of life, love and desire, written with a sublime simplicity. In this conclusion to an audacious trilogy, Stefansson brings a poet's eye and a philosopher's insight to a tale worthy of the sagasmiths of old.

Joint winner of Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize 2016

“Overlays the colours of Dylan Thomas or Thomas Hardy on to spiritual scenery worthy of JRR Tolkien . . . Stef”

Jon Kalman Stefansson is a wonderful, exceptional writer. Whenever I read him I remember what writing - and the deceptively simple business of living - are all about. He is a timeless storyteller

ansson's immersive prose swells, thunders and sparkles with all the shifting moods of the sea on an Icelandic summer's day . . . The Heart of Man completes . . . an epic trilogy - Independent

Stefanson brilliantly conjures up the men's constant struggle against the relentless wind and cold, capturing their shifting emotional and physical states - Times Literary Supplement

Suspended between history and myth, this novel is peopled by uncanny characters roaming vast expanses. At hear this tale of tangled desire speaks lucidly of love, life and loss - Monocle

A satisfying showcase of an author critically acclaimed across Europe - Irish Examiner

Jon Kalman Stefansson's novels have been nominated three times for the Nordic Council Prize for Literature and his novel Summer Light, and then Comes the Night received the Icelandic Prize for Literature in 2005. In 2011 he was awarded the prestigious P.O. Enquist Award. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy - Heaven and Hell, The Sorrow of Angels (longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize) and The Heart of Man (winner of the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize) - and for Fish Have No Feet (longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2017).

After coming through the blizzard that almost cost them everything, Jens and the boy are far from home, in a fishing community at the edge of the world. Taken in by the village doctor, the boy once again has the sense of being brought back from the grave. But this is a strange place, with otherworldly inhabitants, including flame-haired Alfheidur, who makes him wonder whether it is possible to love two women at once; he had believed his heart was lost to Ragnheidur, the daughter of the wealthy merchant in the village to which he must now inexorably return. Set in the awe-inspiring wilderness of the extreme north, The Heart of Man is a profound exploration of life, love and desire, written with a sublime simplicity. In this conclusion to an audacious trilogy, Stefansson brings a poet's eye and a philosopher's insight to a tale worthy of the sagasmiths of old.

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