Advent

Every winter, in the days leading up to Christmas, Benedikt walks into the snowy mountains of Iceland to rescue sheep lost in the blizzards. With his dog and his ram by his side, traversing wild snowstorms and crystalline nights, fuelled by endless cups of hot coffee, Benedikt dedicates himself to helping other living beings in need. But although it is midwinter in the harshest of landscapes, this is a place of deep belonging and peace - brutal and remorseless yet irresistible and indispensable. It is also a time of peace, filled with the anticipation of that special time of year - the days before Christmas: Advent. 'Gunnar Gunnarsson's novel is the Icelandic A Christmas Carol' Vanity Fair'This beautiful story with its inspirational message is too spontaneously human, too universal in its truth to be capable of being dated. . . A drama of heroic endurance . . . for all or any time' New York Times Book Review, 1940TRANSLATED BY PHILIP ROUGHTON

Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889-1975) grew up on a farm in the Fljotsdalur district of East Iceland and went on to become one of the most popular novelists in Denmark and Germany. His career began with his first novel, Af Borgslægtens Historie (translated into English as Guest the One-Eyed), which was published by Gyldendal in 1912-1914 and was adapted for cinema in 1919, the first Icelandic writing ever to be made into a film. During the next two and a half decades, Gunnarsson wrote numerous novels, short stories, poems and plays. His books were printed in many countries though his popularity was concentrated in Denmark and Germany. Ships in the Sky made it to sixth place on the New York Times bestseller list in 1938. Advent, also titled The Good Shepherd, is perhaps his most enduring book and is still widely read today.