Presentation of the “BookStar” 2024 award for the trilogy “Heaven and Hell”
Conversation with Jón Kalman Stefánsson (Iceland)
“Our words are confused rescue teams with outdated maps and birdsong instead of compasses. Confused and completely lost, and their job is to save the world, to save extinguished lives, to save you and hopefully us. But we will postpone further considerations and difficult questions and return once more to the night and the storm, find the boy and try to save him in time from sleep and death.”
A comprehensive experience that penetrates most deeply into man, providing him with a primordial journey through nature – the trilogy "Between Heaven and Hell" by Jón Kalman Stefánsson is proof of the lyrical quality woven into a prose work, i.e. the author's skill to combine the idiolect of a poet with a story conceived by a prose writer. . In “Between Heaven and Hell”, Stefansson combines metaphysical musings with poetically inspired imagery, creating a narrative mirroring Iceland's majestic landscapes, delving into existential themes. "The Tears of the Angels" continues this synthesis, using poetic language to evoke the harsh reality of life, mixing the introspective depth of the epic narrative. ”The Heart of the Man“ further accentuates the blend of interwoven personal stories with philosophical musings, exploring human connection and the nature of existence. Each of the novels "traps" the reader in a world of blurred genre boundaries, offering a dynamic literary journey. This procedure enhances the emotional resonance of the narrative, showing how the lyrical mark of the author stands out in his prose achievements. This proves that Stefansson has masterfully worked out the metamorphic element of the text, which arouses a series of emotions in the readers. The graphic depiction of the merciless Icelandic nature draws the author to the deepest part of man – despair to celebrate the saving power of friendship. This trilogy can be classified as an extremely personal and deeply intimate story – not because the reader is brought into the wonderful nature of Stefansson's world, but precisely because of the everyday feelings that are dealt with – sadness, pain, hope, joy.
This year's winner of the "BookStar" award, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, has the power through his writing and the most everyday events and feelings to make unique journeys on the reader's imagination from which he will not come out the same as he was at the beginning.
The event will be moderated by Aleksandar Madjarovski and Nikola Madjirov.
