Codex 1962

Sjon is a prodigal storyteller in all senses of the phrase . . . He is a master of atmosphere, a fine observer of the cross-hatchings of human motivation, and a vivid noticer of detail. --Garth Risk Hallberg, The New York Times Book Review

The Icelandic literary maverick and Oscar-nominated songwriter Sjon writes with a poet's ear and a musician's natural sense of rhythm. [In] this extraordinary performance . . . the effect is hypnotic. The reader becomes a gleeful collaborator in an extravaganza in which Bosch meets Chagall, with touches of Tarantino. --Eileen Battersby, The Guardian

A work of virtuoso narrative . . . An Icelandic 1001 Nights. --The Sunday Times

[A] challenging and cacophonous epic by the talented Sjon . . . An amalgam of creation myth, surrealist absurdity, ancient saga, and contemporary satire. --Booklist

Sjon is more than a novelist; he is a storyteller in the ancient tradition, and this work may be remembered as his masterpiece. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In this beguiling, surpassingly eccentric triptych, Icelandic novelist Sjon takes on, in turn, romance (classic, not Gothic), mystery, and science fiction to examine how people parse themselves into little camps and try to make their way through this harsh world . . . Sjon's work is unlike anything else in contemporary fiction. Strange--but stunning. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Sjon can flick from angelic frolics to seedy violence as if each tale were a smooth refraction of the last. He has a knack for high comedy, too . . . Victoria Cribb deserves equal praise for bringing all this zest into English so well. --Cal Revely-Calder, The Daily Telegraph (UK)

A work of virtuoso narrative . . . an Icelandic 1001 Nights. --Phil Baker, The Sunday Times (UK)

A master of Icelandic fiction . . . Sjon's stories compound the dreamscapes of surrealism, the marvels of Icelandic folklore and a pop-culture sensibility into free-form fables. --The Economist (UK)

"No one can escape Sjon's wild originality." --Information (Denmark)

"Sjon delivers a complex story in which violence and desire, voices and actions, are beautifully woven together." --Politiken (Denmark)

"It's as if Hans Christian Andersen is telling a story by Kafka, or vice versa." --Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

"Sjon's book gives us hope for the novel as an art form." --Sydsvenska Dagbladet (Sweden)