Olafur Johann Olafsson (b. 1962) has carved out an unusually impressive career as a novelist. Formerly the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Olafsson is currently Vice Chairman of Time Warner Digital Media. His books have all become bestsellers in Iceland.

The Journey Home

(Slóð fiðrildanna, 1999)

Olafsson weaves a powerful and moving story of Icelandic destiny into the turbulent history of Europe in the mid 20th century. For years Asdis Jonsdottir has run a smart country-house hotel in England but now she must confront the deceptions in her life - and the truth. She must return home - to the island she left 20 years before - in search of the life she turned her back on. The top-selling Icelandic novel in recent years.

Sold to: USA (Pantheon, hardcover; Vintage, paperb.), UK (Faber and Faber), Germany (Knaus), Spain (RBA), Italy (Longanesi), France (Seuil)

Absolution

(Fyrirgefning syndanna, 1991)

Nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize

Absolution marked a turning point in Olafsson's career; it has gone a long way to making Olafsson one of the best-known Icelandic writers of recent times in Iceland and abroad. Sly, highly intelligent and lucid, the work is a brilliant anatomy of obsession, desire and self-deception.

Sold to: USA (Random House: Pantheon, hardcover; Vintage, paperb.; Quality Paperback Club USA); UK (Orion: Phoenix House, hard cover/paperb.), Germany (Steidl), Norway (Gyldendal), France (Seuil), Denmark (Forum).

"There is an edge to the style which is both simple and concise. The novel is elegantly structured and the plot convincing ... It is bound to capture the reader's mind."

Morgunbladid newspaper

"... very charming, the style is flawless and the language colourful. A top-notch novel."

Channel 2

"The directness of Olafsson's prose and the honesty of Disa's tale involve the reader in her testimony. Searing in its quietness, overwhelming in its intent, this novel of silence stands witness to the heroic nature of life."

Booklist

"First book in English by this top-notch Nordic novelist, who may become that true rarity, an Icelandic Nobel Prize winner."

Forbes Magazine

"... a surprisingly effective novel ... this story of crime and punishment is an impressive novel ... a modest, but not unworthy, offspring of Dostoyevsky's towering predecessor. Novel of the Month in April 1994."

The Economist

Hall of Memories
(Höll minninganna, 2001)
Hall of Memories is a powerful novel about an Icelander who vanished from his family and friends one dark night and ended up as a servant to the American tycoon, William Randolph Hearst, at the end of the first World War. What possessed him to abandon his wife, children and blossoming company and the security of Reykjavik? How did he end up in the service of Hearst, the press magnate, on the Pacific Ocean? An unforgettable study of human destiny, love, segregation, isolation, solitude and nostalgia. Stylishly written with vibrant characters, the book holds the reader''s attention from beginning to end.

“In Hall of Memories, Olaf Olafsson is just as subtle in the large scale of his narrative as he is in its more melancholic existential moments. The book is both accessible and clear, and has a rich lyrical quality...
The author is one of our best novelists... Hall of Memories is a novel that is built on dramatic thought-provoking material. It is sure to become a classic. “
Morgunbladid newspaper

“The story is brilliantly woven. Olaf Olafsson has found a narrative device that suits him well, and one that he is constantly getting better at. Hall of Memories is darker than Olaf Olafsson''s previous works and Kristján is denied the redemption that has often constituted the key element in his previous novels. The protagonist is just as much a mystery to himself as he is to others, and this is what makes this Olaf Olafsson''s best book to date.”
DV newspaper