Arnaldúr Indridason, 2000
 Republic, island, North
Atlantic Ocean, Icelandic
 318,452 people on 1. January
2011
 Reykjavik, capital city,
around 120,000 people
 Climate: mild, warmed by
Gulf Stream
 Geological fault line: lava
fields, geysers, volcanoes
 Few forests, farming along
the coast line
 Thingvellir – the Althing
 Arctic foxes, whales, nesting
sea birds, puffins
Iceland
Reykjavik – “Bay of Smokes”
Established by the Norseman Ingolfúr Arnason around AD 870
The city was founded in 1786 as a trading town
Greater Reykjavik ~200,000 people
Shortest day: 4 hours of daylight,
Summer: night almost as bright as the day
1986 Reykjavik Summit – Reagan and Gorbachev
Björk, Sigur Rós
Iceland - History
 End of 9th century – Ingolfúr Arnason
 Norwegians, migrants from British Isles
 930: the Althing, world’s first parliamentary system
 1262 Norwegian control
 Kalmar Union 1397 – Denmark, Norway, Sweden
 Remained under Danish rule in 1814
 1874 Constitution
 1904: Home Rule
 1918: recognized as sovereign state
 Occupied by British and American troops during WW2
 June 17th, 1944: Republic of Iceland
 UN 1946, NATO 1949, EU application 2009
 Born in Reykjavik in 1961
 Most popular writer in
Iceland
 History degree from U of
Iceland
 Journalist, freelancer, filmcritic
 First Detective Erlendur
book in 1997, now 11 books
 26 countries, 14 languages
 Lives in Reykjavik with
wife and 3 children
Arnaldúr
Indridason
Jar City - Characters
 Erlendur – Detective Inspector,
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Reykjavik Police, 50, divorced
Sigurdur Oli – colleague
Elinborg – female colleague
Eva Lind – daughter, drug
addict, pregnant
Sindri Snaer, son, alcoholic,
rehab
Holberg – murder victim
Kolbrun, rape victim # 1
Elin, Kolbrun’s sister
Runar, retired police officer –
rejected Kolbrun’s case
 Ellidi – scumbag friend, in jail now,
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violent
Marion Briem – retired detective
Gretar – friend who disappeared
Klara – Gretar’s sister
Hanna – Head of the University of
Iceland’s Faculty of Medicine
Katrin – rape victim # 2
Ragnar – head of forensics
Einar – youngest son of Katrin,
biologist, expert on genetic diseases
Summary
 It RAINS non-stop throughout the novel
 Holberg is murdered, cryptic note – ”a
pathetic Icelandic murder” (7)
 Sidestories:
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Young man attacks elderly sisters
Young woman runs away from her
wedding
They find the photo of Audur’s grave,
find Audur and her mother – both dead
Discover Holberg was a rapist
Visits Elin, sister of raped woman
Kolbrun
Visits Runar – he threw out the case,
humiliated Kolbrun
Eva Lind decides to keep baby
Holberg had lots of hard-core porn on
his computer
 Visit to Ellidi in prison, discover
another rape victim in Husavik
 Visits doctor who diagnosed Audur
with brain tumor and was drunk at the
time
 Erlendur keeps dreaming about
children, has pains, and smokes too
much
 Gretar disappeared in 1974 – the last of
the three, took photographs
 Erlendur digs up Audur’s coffin, but her
brain is missing
 Visits Marion Briem who was in charge
of the police case at the time, mentor
 2 men come to collect Eva’s debt – fight,
Erlendur pays off a sum
 Jar City (141) – organs kept in formalin
in glass jars, for teaching
 Klara, Gretar’s sister has his camera
 The run-away bride is found, was
Summary 2
 Erlendur yells at daughter for
wasting her life
 Katrin admits to being raped but
says her son was born 2 years later
 Marion reminds him Holberg’s
house was built on marsh land
 They find rolls of film along with
Gretar, one picture shows a man and
woman
 They check the house and notice the
smell
 Katrin’s youngest son, Einar, works
at the Genetic Research Center
 Forensics tear away the floor
 Erlendur finds Audur’s brain – she
 It takes a long time, but they finally
find Gretar’s body wrapped in
plastic
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 Elin calls Erlendur and says she has
seen Holberg outside her house
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 Nobody who has disappeared ever
comes back (193)
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 Hanna sends Erlendur to doctor
who collects organs
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 Elinborg finds the woman from
Husavik, rape victim # 2, Katrin
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died from a genetic disease
The Genetic Research Center is the
new Jar City (249)
Katrin tells them Einar knows he is
Holberg’s son; his daughter died at 7
Einar disappears with Audur’s body
Einar wants to re-bury Audur
Einar shoots himself, Erlendur
buries Audur
Erlendur wants Eva Lind to name
her daughter Audur
Jar City
 Detective Erlendur and
 Themes:
his relationship with his
children, esp.:
 Daughter Eva Lind
 Icelandic Murders
 Names
 Smoking etc.
 The title of the book
 Iceland today
 Rape, abuse of women
 Police corruption,
 Drug and alcohol abuse,
 Police fatigue and despair
 The Individual