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The Lion has Many Ears
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Wikipedia article
'Mrg eru ljnsins eyru' (literally, 'Many are the Lion's Ears', or, in the publisher's translation, 'The Lion has Many Ears'),Ua Matthiasdottir and Valgerdur Benediktsdottir 'Forlagi Rights-Agency: Literary Fiction' ([Reykjavk: [Forlagi, 2015]), [https://issuu.com/forlagid/docs/literary-fiction_15/86 p. 86]. published in Reykjavk in 2010 by JPV, is an Icelandic crime novel by runn Erlu-Valdimarsdttir set between 1995 and 2009.
It is to a large extent an adaptation of the famous medieval Icelandic saga 'Laxdla saga';sds Sigmundsdttir, 'Flutningur Laxdlu til ntmans', 'Spssan' (winter 2010), p. 12. in the assessment of Pll Baldvin Baldvinsson, 'the love triangle of 'Laxdla saga' is here dragged screaming into the present, though some parts of the story were clearly written before the Crash, others after'.'Hr er rhyrningurinn r Laxdlu dreginn skrkjandi inn okkar tma, tt sumir partar sgunnar su snilega skrifair fyrir hrun, arir eftir': Pll Baldvin Baldvinsson, 'Stlgfa, nmni og skldleg tilrif', 'Frttatminn' (29-31 October 2010), [http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=361000&pageId=5804053&lang=is&q=m%F6rg%20Eru%20lj%F3nsins p. 44].
The novel was nominated for the fiction category of the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2010,'Nominations for Icelandic Literary Prize Announced', 'Iceland Review Online' (December 12, 2010), http://icelandreview.com/news/2010/12/12/nominations-icelandic-literary-prize-announced. and for the 2011 Bldropinn prize for Icelandic crime fictionhttp://www.borgarbokasafn.is/is/content/bl%C3%B3%C3%B0dropinn. though in the view of Bjarni lafsson, 'as a crime-novel, the novel doesn't manage to get off the ground', whereas 'as a dramatic tragedy, on the other hand, the book is a considerable achievement'.'Sem glpasaga nr bkin ekki a komast flug ... Sem dramatsk trageda er bkin hins vegar miki snilldarverk': Bjarni lafsson, 'Betri trageda en glpasaga', 'SunnudagsMogginn' (17 October 2010), [http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=336478&pageId=5300265&lang=is&q=M%F6rg%20eru%20lj%F3nsins p. 54].
Summary
The novel is to a large extent an adaptation of the famous medieval Icelandic saga 'Laxdla saga'.sds Sigmundsdttir, 'Flutningur Laxdlu til ntmans', 'Spssan' (winter 2010), p. 12.
The main characters are:
The book begins with Lo investigating the scene of Kjartan's violent death at his home in Reykjavk around New Year's Day 2009. However, it then proceeds more or less linearly to recount the life and relationships of Gurn from 1995 to that point. Gurn has recently divorced her first husband, orvaldur, after he hit her; she is beginning a promising relationship with rur, when he drowns in a boating accident after mysterious threats from some British tenants of his mother. Le gets to know Gurn while investigating this incident; Gurn explains that a tarot reader once prophesied that she would divorce her first husband; showed a mann drowning on the second card; a happy couple with a looming figure behind them on the third; a woman with her palms over her face on the fourth; and happiness on the fifth. This corresponds to Gurn svfursdttir's celebrated prophetic dream in 'Laxdla saga'.
In 1998 Gurn meets the cousins Kjartan and Bolli and after having sex with both at once enters a long-term relationship with the former. Over time, she finds out about the cousins' complex relationship, as sons of half-brothers. It turns out that the cousins' grandfather Hskuldur freed Kjartan's grandmother Markefka (by purchase) from human traffickers in Oslo, where she fled during the Second World War. Hskuldur brought her to Iceland, to the great displeasure of Bolli's grandmother Jrunn. This corresponds to Hskuldur Dala-Kollsson's relationship with Melkorka in 'Laxdla saga'. Kjartan has a chip on his shoulder about Bolli's inherited wealth and is somewhat obsessed with his Polish aristocratic ancestry.
Suddenly, in 2005, Kjartan moves to Uppsala in Sweden to do a PhD; he expects Gurn to accompany him, but she refuses, so he leaves her behind and breaks off communication. (While there, he also has a relationship with his supervisor, professor Bergstrm.) In his absence, Gurn has a one-night stand with Le, which leads to the break-up of Le's unhappy marriage. Gurn then marries Bolli. She has a son, orlkur, represented at this point in the story as Bolli's.
On Kjartan's return in 2007, he is enraged that Bolli and Gurn have married; meanwhile, Gurn realises that although she loves Bolli, she is unhappy not being with Kjartan. Bolli offers Kjartan a fine horse as a present, but Kjartan refuses it. Kjartan marries a young woman from a prominent family called Hrefna. At a party in 2008, Gurn is annoyed that Hrefna gets the best seat; after the party, a valuable shawl and pistol which Kjartan has inherited from his Polish ancestors go missing. Le's investigation turns nothing up.
Later that year, Gurn, Bolli and orlkur go away to their summerhouse, but are tricked into drinking a sleeping-draught and find themselves locked into the house, where they are trapped for several days. Though no charges are pressed, it soon becomes clear that Kjartan was the culprit, taking revenge for what he imagines is Gurn and Bolli's theft of his shawl and pistol.
At this point, the 20082011 Icelandic financial crisis commences. Bolli's wealth insulates him from significant harm, but Kjartan and Hrefna, on Bolli's advice, have taken loans and invested their and Kjartan's parents' wealth in a company that has collapsed. Kjartan has also attempted to stymie a land purchase by Bolli, further overstretching himself. Kjartan's whole family is now bankrupt and his marriage collapses. Kjartan descends into rage and alcoholism and is found dead, presumed murdered, around New Year's Day 2009. Not long after, Bolli is found shot.
The novel then focuses on Le's investigation of the murder, which is solved largely because it turns out that Gurn had a stalker, Oddur, who witnessed and obsessively recorded the deaths of both Kjartan and Bolli. It emerges that Hrefna hid Kjartan's shawl out of jealousy; that Gurn's son Svenni stole the antique pistol; that Kjartan in fact killed himself, staging his suicide as a murder (echoing how in 'Laxdla saga' Kjartan refuses to defend himself against Bolli); and that Hrefna murdered Bolli, apparently supposing that he was to blame for Kjartan's murder.
In an epilogue, Gurn bumps into Le in the street and it becomes clear from family resemblance that her son orlkur is in fact not Bolli's son, but Le's, and the two become a happy couple, echoing Gurn svifursdttir's fourth marriage, to orkell Eyjlfsson, in 'Laxdla saga'.
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References
Category:2010 novels
Category:Icelandic novels
Category:Novels set in Iceland
Category:Icelandic books
Category:Icelandic-language novels
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