Osmann

In Osmann, Ferryman of the North, novelist Joachim B. Schmidt delivers his most accomplished novel to date: a luminous work of historical fiction inspired by the true life of Jon Magnusson Osmann (1862-1914), a legendary ferryman from northern Iceland.For more than forty years, Osmann rows people, animals and goods across the icy waters of Skagafjoerdur, becoming a figure of near-mythic stature. A fisherman and a winter seal hunter, a poet, drinker and devout believer, he shelters the needy and lives in close communion with a landscape where elves, ghosts and faith coexist. His generous spirit extends to friendships and to three great loves, yet his life is marked by profound loss: children die in infancy, friends drown or emigrate, and modernity slowly encroaches on the valley he has always known.Told with fluid, lyrical prose and a deep sense of place, Osmann blends history, myth and human vulnerability to evoke a vanished way of life at the edge of the Arctic. Beautiful, moving and quietly powerful, it confirms Schmidt - already well known to English-language readers for Kalmann and Kalmann and the Sleeping Mountain - as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary European fiction. Perfect for fans of Burial Rites and The Sealwoman's Gift