The Iconic House, by Dominic Bradbury with photographs by Richard Powers

A  beautifully illustraed treatise on domestic properties built in the past 120 years that earn the label 'iconic' in that they undoubtedly influenced architectural development even if, regrettably, there is little evidence of it in the houses being built for sale today. These are one-off properties, of course, out of reach of the average person but the book still provides a fascinating insight into what could have been a template for original domestic architecture -- missed opportunities. ❤❤❤❤❤

Wretchedness, a novel by Andrzej Tichy

Written in the 1990s and translated recently from Swedish, this novel is written in stream-of-conciousness style.  It recaptures the early life of a young cellist brought up in the then drug- and crime-ridden immigrant ghettos of Malmo.  It is designed to shock with a view to exposing the brutality of life in this sub-culture -- literally miles from the conventional norms of Swedish society.  

The novel is demanding to read, as it switches time and place and even, at times, the narrator, so that it becomes hard to know if the narrator is describing the experience of another person (whom he meets in the street) or is describing his own previous life.  The novel ends very abruptly with several possible interpretations of an ending.  It seems to have been published by a subscription-funded organisation; so a substantial part of the book is a list of the names of the subscribers. ❤

Independent People, a novel by Halidor Laxness

This epic novel, translated from Icelandic, was written between the two world wars and earned the author the title of "Tolstoy of the North".  It tells the story of a sheep farmer, Bjartus, and his family over two generations and provides an insight into a totally alien world -- a world in which, in Bjartur's eyes at least, sheep were valued more highly than people and the obsession of everyone in the community was singularly that of sheep farming and husbandry.  Bjartur's many family tragedies rarely deflected him from his obsession, which transferred latterly to the controversy over the politics of private versus co-operative funding of sheep farming in rural communities. Only in the relationship with his adopted daughter Asta Solillja do you see any sign of humanity emerge and yet the hero of this novel is strangely appealing as an individual. 

Icelandic sheep farming is not generally known as a subject for an exciting novel, but see this blog (In the Audience Summer 2020) for two interesting films on similar themes.   ❤❤❤❤❤