Halldór Laxness Quotes

1902–1998 Iceland

Halldór Kiljan Laxness (23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998), born Halldór Guðjónsson, was a 20th century Icelandic author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955.

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Random Halldór Laxness quote

126 quotes

"Oh, well, I'm leaving here now," he told her. "They're forcing me to sell up."

Sjálfstætt fólk (Independent People) (1935)

When I discovered that history is a fable, and a poor one at that, I started looking for a better fable, and found theology.

Kristnihald undir Jökli (Under the Glacier/Christianity at Glacier) (1968)

Dear darling Americans, Jesus let them come with the atom bomb quick.

Atómstöðin (The Atom Station) (1948)

Over us human beings there hangs an awful sword of justice.

Heimsljós (World Light) (1940)

Dear Snæfríður, is it not clear to you how disastrous your words were, when you said just now that you do not fear the eye of God watching over you?

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

How wonderful it can be, and what nobility it proves in young men, when they pledge one another a friendship that can never be shadowed by selfishness, envy, or jealousy.

Paradísarheimt (Paradise Reclaimed) (1960)

All creation complains and moans, my dear lord Commissarius. Complaint is its distinctive sound.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

It may well be that fighting is normal, like having something to eat. Peace, on the other hand, is a luxury.

Heimsljós (World Light) (1940)

It's you who are strange. Talking to you is like talking to someone who has no shadow.

Heimsljós (World Light) (1940)

Gold is precious because it resembles the sun. Silver has the light of the moon.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

It's a pity we don't whistle at one another, like birds. Words are misleading.

Kristnihald undir Jökli (Under the Glacier/Christianity at Glacier) (1968)

Icelanders are grateful to meet foreigners who have heard of their country. And even more grateful to hear someone say it deserves better.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

Sell the country, bury bones. What else?

Atómstöðin (The Atom Station) (1948)

He who weeps does not die; weeping is a sign of life; weep, and your life is worth something again.

Atómstöðin (The Atom Station) (1948)

In the end one is no longer sure which is the greatest evildoer, the man who gets up early or the man who goes to bed late.

Paradísarheimt (Paradise Reclaimed) (1960)

A man is not independent unless he has the courage to stand alone.

Sjálfstætt fólk (Independent People) (1935)

"Really," said the poet, without enthusiasm.

Heimsljós (World Light) (1940)

People who like to display complicated technique in their verse are more given to pride themselves on their work than are those who write for their own solace.

Sjálfstætt fólk (Independent People) (1935)

A married man has only one duty towards his wife in order to make her happy, and that is to ensure that she is constantly pregnant, and with a child in her arms.

Heimsljós (World Light) (1940)

My children have never brought any shame upon their father. They have been independent children, my children.

Sjálfstætt fólk (Independent People) (1935)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Halldór Laxness (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.