Friday Friyay: 'Laxdæla saga' by Anonymous, trans. by Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson

Happy Friday! How has another week passed? And how is time flying this way? I've still got about 2 weeks until I officially move and then my job/PhD don't technically start till the 1st of October but, you know me, I've already started reading for it. But instead of sharing from the academic books, I thought I'd share from one of the texts I'll be analysing and discussing in the PhD itself. So meet Laxdæla saga!

Written around 1245 by an unknown author, the Laxdaela Saga is an extraordinary tale of conflicting kinships and passionate love, and one of the most compelling works of Icelandic literature. Covering 150 years in the lives of the inhabitants of the community of Laxriverdale, the saga focuses primarily upon the story of Gudrun Osvif's-daughter: a proud, beautiful, vain and desirable figure, who is forced into an unhappy marriage and destroys the only man she has truly loved - her husband's best friend. A moving tale of murder and sacrifice, romance and regret, the Laxdaela Saga is also a fascinating insight into an era of radical change - a time when the Age of Chivalry was at its fullest flower in continental Europe, and the Christian faith was making its impact felt upon the Viking world.

Book Beginnings is at home on Rose City Reader, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at Freda's Voice, hosted by Freda. I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.

BB:

'There was a man called Ketil Flat-Nose, who was the son of Bjorn Buna. Ketil was a powerful and well-born lord in Norway; he lived in Romsdale, in Romsdale Province, which lies between Sunnmore and Nordmore.' p.1

Ok, I have to admit that this is hardly the most exciting of beginnings. These kind of sagas are "historical" in that they refer to actual places and also to people who may have actually existed. They are far from actual, factual, history, but they set themselves up through these kinds of references and genealogies to create a sense of history and accuracy. As such, the beginnings are interesting but not gripping per se as a reader.

F56:

'By now, old age was weighing heavily upon Unn; she never rose before noon and always went early to bed. She allowed no one to come and consult her between the time she went to bed in the evening and the time she was dressed again; and she would give an irate reply if anyone asked about her health.' p.56

Unn (the Deep-Minded, as she is awesomely known) is such an important character within the first part of the saga but this excerpt just made me laugh. I hope to be like this when I'm old, but I must also admit I'm already a little like this with my phone on airplane-mode from 10pm xD

BBH:

This week's question was suggested by Billy himself:

Is it difficult to find new books in local bookstores?

I'd say this reaalllyyy depends on where you live, i.e. what local is for you. In the city I currently live, which is full of bookstores and occupied by thousands of students, including internationals, I can find a lot of recent releases in my local bookstores. And I think the town I'm moving to soon, since it's also a university city, will also have pretty well-stocked bookstores. But I have definitely lived in places where the supply was slower. It is one of the reasons why I read so much on my Kindle now and why I order a lot of books, when I want a physical copy. 

So that's it for me today! How are your local bookstores?