The Knudsen name has been carried by geniuses and chieftains, cowards, and scoundrels. Dim-witted village fools and oddballs have drifted into the family, and some were mayors while others even ended up in parliament. The Knudsen men have been ministers, teachers, pilots, waiters, criminals, lawyers. Indeed, sometimes all of these in the same person. The Knudsen women have been housewives and air hostesses, and they have worked with art and clay. They have worked in charity and culture, in cold storage plants and in fishing, drying fish and working on conveyor lines, in city council offices, hotels, restaurants, schools, and banks.

Einar Már Guðmundsson has written a novel that is in many ways funny and interesting, a novel in which he portrays Icelanders and Icelandic society from within.

About the author

Icelandic poet and author Einar Már Guðmundsson (1954) has written and published over 30 works in Icelandic for which he has received much recognition and several awards, such as the Icelandic Literature Prize, the Nordic Council Literature Prize, and the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize. His works have been translated to many languages.

Einar Már began writing poetry in 1980, when he published two collections of poetry. Since then, he has published novels, children's books, and essay collections.