About the Size of the Universe

A modern saga spanning the whole of the 20th century, by one of Iceland’s most celebrated writers.

At the beginning of this story there is death, and yet it is a celebration of life – the passion between a man and a woman, forbidden love, violence, sorrow, betrayal. Happiness and misfortune are passed down from one generation to the next. The sorrow over what was and what might have been weighs heavily on the characters and at the end of this chain, for now, stands Ari, on his way to his dying father, with a score still to be settled.

The raw beauty of life is written into the dramatic Icelandic landscape, and into a society that has undergone great transformation within a century. In language both archaic and lyrical, and yet entirely contemporary and full of humour, Jón Kalman Stefánsson proves himself one of the finest European writers of his generation.

A companion volume to Fish Have No Feet (longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2017).
Translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton