Óttar M. Norðfjörð in Spanish
Óttar M. Norðfjörð's books Hnífur Abrahams/Abraham's Knife and Sólkross/Sun Cross to be distributed in about 20 countries
Agreement was reached at the Frankfurt Book Fair between Icelandic publisher Sögur and Duomo Ediciones in Spain on the publication in Spanish of Óttar M. Norðfjörð's books Hnífur Abrahams/Abraham's Knife and Sólkross/Sun Cross. The contract is for publication throughout the Hispanic world, so the books will be distributed in about twenty countries. Sun Cross is due for publication at Christmas 2010 and Abraham's Knife in 2011.
Publication rights for Sun Cross have recently been sold to German, Austria and Switzerland. Abraham's Knife has already been published in the Netherlands by 
Verbum Crime.
Paradísarborgin/Paradise City is Óttar's latest novel, a story about a man in his early thirties who moves back into his childhood home after the death of his father. While renovating the cellar of the house he discovers a resilient funghus that suddenly takes over the whole city.
Critics have described the book as an allegory about Icelandic community and the effects of the financial crisis. Ásgeir H. Ingólfsson, critic of the culture website Kistan.is, says that two different aspects of the author are apparent in the book; the crime-fiction author and the polemical one, in a crisis-story that “hits the mark”. Erla Hlynsdóttir, critic of the daily newspaper (DV), was also impressed: “Paradise City is a complex story destined to become a classic. [...] With each book Óttar grows as a writer and his treatment of the subject matter and stylistic intelligence show that he's capable of anything.”