Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was: A Novel - Paperback
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About Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was
Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was is Sjón's most accessible and emotionally resonant work, combining his signature miniature historical epic style with a deeply human story. Set against the backdrop of Reykjavik in 1918, this novel follows Mani Steinn, a young queer man navigating life in an isolated, homogeneous society that has no framework for understanding homosexuality.
Historical Setting and Context
The story unfolds during one of history's darkest moments. The Spanish flu has devastated Europe, Asia, and North America, and now threatens Iceland's shores. War looms on the horizon, and Reykjavik feels vulnerable and defenseless. Against this backdrop of existential threat, Mani Steinn exists on the fringes of a society that itself sits at the edge of the world.
Cinema as Escape and Transformation
The outside world brings one gift to Iceland: cinema. In the darkness of a silent theater, watching European films flicker across the screen, Mani finds temporary refuge from the overwhelming threats of his reality. These moments of escape raise the novel's central question: Should he retreat entirely into this imaginary world, or engage with a society that has rejected him?
About Author Sjón
Born in Reykjavik in 1962, Sjón is an internationally acclaimed novelist, poet, and playwright. His works, including The Blue Fox, From the Mouth of the Whale, and The Whispering Muse, have been translated into thirty-five languages. Beyond literature, he has collaborated extensively with Björk, earning an Oscar nomination for his lyrics in Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark.
Translation by Victoria Cribb
Victoria Cribb brings twenty-five years of expertise in Icelandic language and literature to this translation. After studying Old Icelandic at Cambridge and completing advanced degrees in Scandinavian Studies, she worked in Iceland as a publisher, journalist, and translator before returning to London. She currently teaches Icelandic at University College London and Cambridge while continuing her translation work.
The mind-bending miniature historical epic is Sjón's specialty, and Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was is no exception. But it is also Sjón's most realistic, accessible, and heartfelt work yet. It is the story of a young man on the fringes of a society that is itself at the fringes of the world--at what seems like history's most tumultuous, perhaps ultimate moment.
Mani Steinn is queer in a society in which the idea of homosexuality is beyond the furthest extreme. His city, Reykjavik in 1918, is homogeneous and isolated and seems entirely defenseless against the Spanish flu, which has already torn through Europe, Asia, and North America and is now lapping up on Iceland's shores. And if the flu doesn't do it, there's always the threat that war will spread all the way north. And yet the outside world has also brought Icelanders cinema And there's nothing like a dark, silent room with a film from Europe flickering on the screen to help you escape from the overwhelming threats--and adventures--of the night, to transport you, to make you feel like everything is going to be all right. For Mani Steinn, the question is whether, at Reykjavik's darkest hour, he should retreat all the way into this imaginary world, or if he should engage with the society that has so soundly rejected him.Sjón is the author of, among other works, The Blue Fox, From the Mouth of the Whale, and The Whispering Muse. Born in Reykjavík in 1962, he is an award-winning novelist, poet, and playwright, and his novels have been translated into thirty-five languages. Alongside his work as a writer, Sjón has taken part in a wide range of art exhibitions and music events. His longtime collaboration with the Icelandic singer Björk led to an Oscar nomination for his lyrics for the Lars von Trier movie Dancer in the Dark. He lives in Reykjavík.
Victoria Cribb has spent the last twenty-five years immersed in Iceland's language and literature. After reading Old Icelandic at Cambridge, she took an MA in Scandinavian Studies at University College London and a BPhil in Icelandic at the University of Iceland, before working in Iceland for a number of years as a publisher, journalist, and translator. Since 2002 she has lived in London, working as a freelance translator, and currently also teaches Icelandic at University College London and in Cambridge. Her translations include The Blue Fox by Sjón and three novels in collaboration with Olaf Olafsson, as well as countless other works of fiction and nonfiction, published in books, anthologies, and magazines.
Contributor(s)
Author
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About Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was
Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was is Sjón's most accessible and emotionally resonant work, combining his signature miniature historical epic style with a deeply human story. Set against the backdrop of Reykjavik in 1918, this novel follows Mani Steinn, a young queer man navigating life in an isolated, homogeneous society that has no framework for understanding homosexuality.
Historical Setting and Context
The story unfolds during one of history's darkest moments. The Spanish flu has devastated Europe, Asia, and North America, and now threatens Iceland's shores. War looms on the horizon, and Reykjavik feels vulnerable and defenseless. Against this backdrop of existential threat, Mani Steinn exists on the fringes of a society that itself sits at the edge of the world.
Cinema as Escape and Transformation
The outside world brings one gift to Iceland: cinema. In the darkness of a silent theater, watching European films flicker across the screen, Mani finds temporary refuge from the overwhelming threats of his reality. These moments of escape raise the novel's central question: Should he retreat entirely into this imaginary world, or engage with a society that has rejected him?
About Author Sjón
Born in Reykjavik in 1962, Sjón is an internationally acclaimed novelist, poet, and playwright. His works, including The Blue Fox, From the Mouth of the Whale, and The Whispering Muse, have been translated into thirty-five languages. Beyond literature, he has collaborated extensively with Björk, earning an Oscar nomination for his lyrics in Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark.
Translation by Victoria Cribb
Victoria Cribb brings twenty-five years of expertise in Icelandic language and literature to this translation. After studying Old Icelandic at Cambridge and completing advanced degrees in Scandinavian Studies, she worked in Iceland as a publisher, journalist, and translator before returning to London. She currently teaches Icelandic at University College London and Cambridge while continuing her translation work.
The mind-bending miniature historical epic is Sjón's specialty, and Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was is no exception. But it is also Sjón's most realistic, accessible, and heartfelt work yet. It is the story of a young man on the fringes of a society that is itself at the fringes of the world--at what seems like history's most tumultuous, perhaps ultimate moment.
Mani Steinn is queer in a society in which the idea of homosexuality is beyond the furthest extreme. His city, Reykjavik in 1918, is homogeneous and isolated and seems entirely defenseless against the Spanish flu, which has already torn through Europe, Asia, and North America and is now lapping up on Iceland's shores. And if the flu doesn't do it, there's always the threat that war will spread all the way north. And yet the outside world has also brought Icelanders cinema And there's nothing like a dark, silent room with a film from Europe flickering on the screen to help you escape from the overwhelming threats--and adventures--of the night, to transport you, to make you feel like everything is going to be all right. For Mani Steinn, the question is whether, at Reykjavik's darkest hour, he should retreat all the way into this imaginary world, or if he should engage with the society that has so soundly rejected him.Sjón is the author of, among other works, The Blue Fox, From the Mouth of the Whale, and The Whispering Muse. Born in Reykjavík in 1962, he is an award-winning novelist, poet, and playwright, and his novels have been translated into thirty-five languages. Alongside his work as a writer, Sjón has taken part in a wide range of art exhibitions and music events. His longtime collaboration with the Icelandic singer Björk led to an Oscar nomination for his lyrics for the Lars von Trier movie Dancer in the Dark. He lives in Reykjavík.
Victoria Cribb has spent the last twenty-five years immersed in Iceland's language and literature. After reading Old Icelandic at Cambridge, she took an MA in Scandinavian Studies at University College London and a BPhil in Icelandic at the University of Iceland, before working in Iceland for a number of years as a publisher, journalist, and translator. Since 2002 she has lived in London, working as a freelance translator, and currently also teaches Icelandic at University College London and in Cambridge. Her translations include The Blue Fox by Sjón and three novels in collaboration with Olaf Olafsson, as well as countless other works of fiction and nonfiction, published in books, anthologies, and magazines.
Contributor(s)
Author