Dýrd himinsins or Fegurð himins (The Beauty of the Heavens), which is the original Icelandic title, was penned and published in 1940 by the then very young, yet mature and renowned Icelandic writer, Halldór Laxness.

It is the fourth and final volume in Laxness’s epic work Ljós heimsins (World Light), which he wrote in the wake of the book Undir egið borð (Independent People). The preceding three volumes have already been published in Faroese under the titles Ljómur guddómsins (The Revelation of the Deity), Høll summarlandsins  (The Palace of the Summerland), and Hús skaldsins (The Poet’s House)

In Dýrd himinsins, we continue to follow the story about Ólavur Kárason, the poet from Ljósavík, who is now an adult man, newly released from prison, where he has been serving time for six shameful years because he unwittingly committed a sexual transgression against a schoolgirl in the village where he worked as a substitute teacher for a while.

Attempting to make a living as a poet while simultaneously belonging to a very small community, which, when it comes to conflicts, is on par with big cities, small villages, and towns, where we live today, is not a life meant for everyone. It is not meant for those who only dream of beautiful things, and it is most certainly not meant for someone whose mother is incapable of loving him.