Icelanders have often travelled abroad--first as Vikings, then as immigrants, and in contemporary times as individuals seeking a different world. These ex-patriots people the novels of Olaf Olafsson--they may be emigrants, but they are still of Iceland. In ABSOLUTION the setting is Manhattan, and the back story is Scandinavia during the Second World War. The hero is not a likeabe person--corrupt, self-engrossed, potentially a criminal. It is a tribute to the subtly of the novel that we come to like him. The redemptive twist at the end works even for readers (like me) who as a rule don't like a startling revelation at the end--this one is satisfying. The heroine of THE JOURNEY HOME is a more likable protagonist--she has her faults, but like an old friend, one can put up with them. Disa Jonsdotir left Iceland as a young woman, in search of a career as a chef. She goes to England, but the disappearance of her German-Jewish lover and family events propel her back home, where she confronts not just the dry Lutheranism of her family but the rise of pro-Nazism in Iceland itself. As an aging and terminally ill woman she not only looks back but goes back on one last journey. The Iceland of these novel is a complex one. It contains childhoods of startling pristine Arctic beauty--and depression and despair. Interiors might be out of Ibsen--restrained, middle-class. Protagonists don't rail against fate--they try to aim for happiness but don't necessarily triumph. However, small moments serve as compensation. Disa says: Sometimes you have to get a grasp on yourself to keep your thoughts under control, but it's worth it. The reward is just around the next corner, whether it is a clutch of perfect eggs in a basket or the sound of birdsong on a still day. The soul can take delight in small things if one's dreams only leave it in peace long enough."***For more reviews by Sagan see Miriam's Well [...]