“Our Bright Life” by Pedro Junlogur Garcia

The story begins in Iceland in the year 2089, and no, that's not a typo. Pedro Gunlugur García's family saga “Lungu”, German title “Our Bright Life” is not limited to the past, but also extends into the future. It's a wild ride between continents, emotions, science and magic – with Huge Dick and the infamous Íslendingabók in not-so-unimportant supporting roles. German translation is available from today.

“Our Bright Life” by Pedro Gunlugor García

What would you do if your beloved brother was robbed of his abilities due to a genetic disease and ended up killing himself? For Joanna, the woman of the future, the matter is clear: she ensures that her daughter does not get these genes, and CRISPR makes that possible. This led to a falling out with her father, Stefan. But first she must read his book, the book within the book, to find out which demons from his origins are actually haunting him. She's not really happy with his book: “If you're going to write down your family history for the sake of preserving it and so on, why add something fictional?” As for us, readers outside the family, we enjoy the pleasure of the narrative, which takes us from unripe olives as a means of escaping from the army to a giant rooster imagined by lightning.

From the wide world to Iceland – for an Icelandic project

Pedro Gunnlogur García has won the 2022 Icelandic Literature Prize for his novel “Lungu,” which literally means “lungs.” It is his second novel. Author He said it himself in the interviewHe believes the reception would have been different if he had a purely Icelandic name. Pedro Gunlugor García has a Portuguese father and spent the early years of his life in Portugal. After the separation, the Icelandic mother returned to Iceland with her children. Whatever the case, Stefan and Joanna's ancestors don't just come from Iceland. An ambitious young Canadian woman, Sarah, of Italian and Vietnamese origins, is interested in the task of deciphering the genes of Icelanders, and ends up on this island where none of her ancestors had ever been before. She once made a mistake with a colleague when she jokingly referred to the “Icelandic book” they were working on as an “encyclopedia of incest.” But it also becomes part of this database that records the genealogies of Icelanders.

More than eight generations

Our Bright Lives spans over eight generations, some driven by global events, some thriving or failing because of familiar human challenges. Pedro Gunlugor García depicts his heroes without romanticism, but with a deep understanding of human nature, the whims of fate and an amusing touch of magic.

“Our Bright Life” by Pedro Junlaugor Garcia Hoffman and Camp back. Translation from Icelandic by Tina Let It Be. ISBN 78-3-455-01714-4