MovieChat Forums > Mýrin (2006) Discussion > Question on the novels

Question on the novels

posted 15 years ago by DirkPitt007
2 replies | jump to latest

I just recently discovered the Erlendur novels, and am hooked. I have the paperbacks of Jar City, Silence Of The Grave, and Voices, and am waiting for the paperback release of The Draining Lake (I'm a collector, so I like having them all in the same format, what can I say?)

But I noticed on Wikipedia that there are two novels apparently published before Jar City in Iceland:

• (1997) Synir duftsins; English translation: Sons of Dust
• (1998) Dauðarósir; English translation: Silent Kill

Anyone know why these first two haven't seen a US release, with Jar City being listed here as the first in the series? Is there anyone from Iceland here who can shed some light on this?

[–] girl_on_wire 13 years ago

I was confused about that too! I also love the books, but am usually way too impatient to wait for a particular edition; once I even ordered a book from the series from the UK because the "American" edition wasn't published yet!

I did find this interview (http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/editorial-814/An-Interview-with-Arnaldur-Indridason), and it might be illuminating:

CG: Sons of Dust, the first Detective Erlendur novel, has yet to be translated. What was the reasoning for starting the English translations with the third book, Tainted Blood?

AI: I am published now in some 36 countries and everybody starts with Jar City (the U.S. title of Tainted Blood). It was the breaktrough book for me and it is the best known book and publishers think it is a good start. And maybe it is. There are two books before it in the series and eight in all. I am writing number nine as we speak. Jar City is probably a good start. It gets you into the atmosphere of the books and the characters,the weather, the streets of Reykjavík and possibly you want to know more about this guy Erlendur, the sad policeman, after reading it.

[–] lagal 8 years ago

I love the books and I accidentally stumbled across the movie on Hulu Plus. I wish more would be filmed with the same lead actor. It has been 10 years (I think) since Jar City was released so I guess that isn't likely. Too bad.