This short novel is set in 1883 in rural Iceland. It gives a sense of the place and time, but also has the feel of a fable.Fridrik B Fridjónsson studied natural history at the University of Copenhagen, travelling to Iceland in 1868 to sell his parents' farm and other belongings after their deaths and return to Denmark. But an encounter with a young woman causes him to stay at the farm and make his life there.In 1883, he lives at the farm with his servant, Hafdís Jónsdóttir (Abba), and upon her death, he pays the local pastor, Reverend Baldur Skuggason, to give her a funeral and burial. Skuggason's servant, Hálfdán Atlason, comes to convey the body in its coffin back to the church from the farm.Both servants had Down's syndrome and few children with the syndrome at the time in Iceland survived to adulthood. Many treated them as less than human. Fridrik was not one of those people, and he and Abba lived together happily, learning things from each other and being happy.Following the funeral, Reverend Skuggason, went hunting after a fox that he heard was in the area, and we see this part of the story from an omniscient observer point of view.The writing is engaging and lyrical, drawing the reader in. This is a story to read slowly, savouring each sentence and thinking about the meaning behind the words. I loved it. Simple in nature and as stark as its setting The Blue Fox was my first introduction to Sjon and kicked off me immediately buying his other two books that have been offered in English. The backdrop is as much a character as the naturalist or the priest and that interests me probably more than anything else about this story, just how present the setting is. It's the kind of story that despite its period setting the exotic and non generous locale makes it easy to believe it could be pulled into the present in modern rural ice shelves without losing any of its surrealism. A fast and satisfying read that really gave me days of consideration on the nature of fatherhood and abandonment after I finished reading it. I would love to see more than the three novels currently available are translated into English soon.
What do You think about A Raposa Azul (2010)?
I loved it until the end of the first part; after that it was far less perfect.
—moyu
It's like a Lars von Trier movie, or Bjork wearing her swan dress - weird.
—shubham
Sjon's prose is sparse but deep. This is a strange, magical novel.
—Emily
Brilliant - part fable, part history, part fairy tale - fantastic!
—zoer
