A Gem Worth Waiting For

There is a lovely spot in Manitoba where a small stream runs through a gentle rise on the prairie. There, at the site of his homestead, the author Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason is commemorated with a plaque dedicated to him by the Icelandic-Canadian community in Manitoba. Not many Canadian writers have their home places marked as historic sites and, in particular, not many writers who did not write in English or French. I grew up in the Interlake area of Manitoba, where Bjarnason spent much of his life, mostly in Geysir, Manitoba, a few miles from Lake Winnipeg, and although I visited the site many times, I had no idea of his reputation as a writer. The translation of his most important novel into English may help to reduce his obscurity in this country.

Bjarnason’s work was very well received in Iceland, and he still has a substantial reputation there. The novel is now in its fourth edition. The Young Icelander is the retitled new translation of...