This summer I took a little road trip, actually train trip, across the US. Our first stop after leaving LA was Tucson, Arizona.
I’d like to share a very cool bookstore with you that I found on Tucson’s historic 4th Avenue.
Everyone knows, I love me a bookstore and this one grabbed my attention from the getgo.
I confess to immaturity.
Featuring I love Primark socks, old skool sweets, handwritten letter,
Courtesy of a dear friend.
No matter where I am on the globe, I seek out the local bookstore. This particular book store in the heart of Reykjavík, Iceland is unexceptional and yet I love it from the moment I walk in. It feels exactly how a bookstore should – real, unpretentious, a little gritty around the edges and the noise level is just right. Amazingly Icelanders read and publish more books per head than any other nation- I haven’t decided if this is due to their love of language and literature, or as a solution to surviving the long, dark nights spent inside. As a book junkie myself, however, I am impressed by this fact. There is a saying in Iceland that goes “It is better to go barefoot than without books”- quite a serious statement for a country with such cold temperatures! To get a real feel for Icelandic culture, there is no better way to spend an hour or two than at the Eymundsson bookstore on Austurstræti. Grab a pastry, sit down and watch the locals appreciating books like the art-form they deserve to be.
Iceland is a nation of less than 300,000 (that’s just short of the population of Bakersfield, California), all who profess to being an artist, musician, writer or all three. About half of the population live in Reykjavík, the world’s northernmost capital city, the other half are dotted over the country, which is, geographically speaking the same size as England. Walking through the main shopping street, Laugavegur, on my first night felt akin to exploring a ghost-town. At 6pm the shops were shut, and the streets were near-deserted. Post dinner is a different story , however, and the rumors that the Icelanders like to drink is no lie! No wonder when the beer is so good – apparently it’s something in the fantastically fresh water.
The scenery on the drive from the airport into Reykjavík is bare and stark – the rain made me question my decision to vacation in such a bleak place when California was waiting for me, its big sunny arms open wide and lit with bright smiles. Later, at a film show I attended called ‘The Volcano Show’, I learned that the vast land surrounding the airport – the rocks and cracks and broken up bits of land – are evidence of the constant struggle Iceland finds itself in between the two fierce continents of Europe and America. This usually results in a frustratingly disabling volcano or one of 20 plus earthquakes Iceland experiences each day. The island country of Iceland finds itself in a volatile position with a constant and omnipresent threat of a major cataclysm – I am sure that this adds to the unique and quirky character of the Icelandic people. In the city’s English paper I read an article by a local about his beliefs in elves and trolls. He wrote about his recent trip to Finland where he had met Moomin Papa, the chief of the Moomin Elves, who resided in Moomin Valley. Moomin Papa was apparently in favor of Iceland joining the EU, since the quality of life in Moomin Valley had greatly improved since Finland’s accession.At the end of the article I realized that this local writer was in fact Jón Gnarr、and that Jón Gnarr was in fact the Mayor of Reykjavík. So yes, you could call the Icelanders a little ‘eccentric’.
Belief in these hidden people is wide-spread and real – the position of roads and buildings is chosen carefully in order to avoid elf-hills and old pagan Viking roots are very apparent in the society’s way of thinking. To learn more about Iceland’s unusual geography and the beliefs it has cultivated, catch the ‘Volcano Show’ – an hour or so of footage filmed by volcano enthusiast Villi Knudsen and his father who have been capturing eruptions on film since 1947. Villi’s dry wit makes for great entertainment. The show airs every evening at 8 pm.
Today’s post combines my two loves: Japan & women’s fiction.
Have read:
Tokyo Fiancée, Amélie Nothomb, Alison Anderson (translator)
I read this when I was a Tokyo fiancee myself. Love, love, LOVE!! Interesting insight into being a European female in Japan, as well as the challenges and delights of a cross – cultural relationship. Both experiences offer deep insights into Japanese culture in the bubble era. Nothomb has sharp observations and divine commentary.
Midori by Moonlight, Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
Against her parents will, Midori follows her American boyfriend to San Francisco to get married. Her hopes for the future are high, but when the rotten Kevin runs back to his ex at the engagement party and her plans are shattered and her American dream is a bit nightmarish. Midori is a fun main character and the reader finds themselves rooting for her as she attempts to get her life back on track – including getting a green card, leaving her job at a hostess bar and following her passion of baking. Though the book is not set in Japan it is full of Japan related references and observations, and Japan Town in San Francisco facilitates this. A great read. Warning: Wendy’s descriptions of Midori’s cake are so ‘delicious’ you’ll be looking for a sugar fix afterwards!
Turning Japanese, Cathy Yardley
The half-Japanese, half-Italian American Lisa gets an internship at a manga publishers in Tokyo. She leaves her hard working boyfriend for a year and experiences living with a Japanese host family and the grueling work ethics of Japanese society. The book was interesting for me since Lisa truly realises so much about herself and her own culture by being away from it – something I myself experienced during my time living in Japan. The writing is okay but a little on the fluffy side for me. Mistakes like ‘mushi-mushi’ instead of ‘moshi-moshi’ and K-Tei instead of Keitai might annoy any readers familiar with Japanese language and culture. Some tighter editing would have given this book a better rating.
Japan related non-fiction reviews coming soon:
A Year in Japan, Kate T. Williamson
At Home in Japan, Rebecca Otowa
Memoirs of an American Housewife in Japan, Pauline Hager
Live music spills out of almost every corner of Reykjavic as you walk around the city streets and walking is something you find yourself doing a lot of – the city is not entirely flat though there are no steep hills to be alarmed about. My favorite aspect of the city is that you can get from one end to the other in under 30 minutes on foot, hence the difficult-to-pronounce street names soon become familiar, as do the brightly-colored houses, coffee-shops, bars, restaurants and sculptures which are dotted all over the place. Even the faces start to become familiar. I’m starting to think that life here could be a little claustrophobic. I am also starting to realize why people have a tendency to get blind drunk every Friday and Saturday night – drink enough and a familiar face might take on a completely different character.
As a health-nut I am un-impressed by dinnertime offerings. Not much fruit and vegetables can be grown on the island, and of course import prices are high. My garden in California has more fruit in it than the local supermarket we visit. Traditional restaurants carry a selection of lamb and seafood dishes, and puffin and whale are also advertised outside restaurants and stare at you from the menu. That’s not to say for a small city there isn’t a great selection of food – Indian, Thai and Vegetarian restaurants are widely available, and the prices are much lower than the local fare. We have also thoroughly enjoyed a selection of Icelandic desserts and fantastic coffee.
One thing the supermarkets and convenience stores do stock in abundance is Coca-Cola. Everything here is washed down with Coke and as I walk around I feel as though I have landed in a Coke advertisement, or a show in which Coca-Cola is the main sponsor of product placement. It is unbelievable and unexpected; it is the only visible sign of hard American influence as there is not a single McDonalds or Starbucks in the country. This, I feel, is no accident – it is the result of firm resistance and a culture that respects and supports small, independent restaurants and shops that consistently deliver great service and the personal touch.
For this – and many other reasons – Iceland is like nowhere I have ever been before. It is neither European nor North American. It is familiar and yet full of surprises. People are not friendly, yet they are not rude, the sun does not shine for us and yet it is not cold. I cannot quite understand Reykjavík and how on earth people live here – and yet I like it. I decide that if the city was a person, she would be naturally beautiful, quiet and dispassionate. She would continue to surprise you, she’d baffle you, and her permanent nonplussed mood would be a mystery to you.
Much like a novel that starts off slow but leaves you hooked, with time you might just slowly fall in love with her.
