Iceland Summer: Travels Along the Ring Road

An island is a world out of time and place, separated by literal and figurative oceans, where the confines of reality are tenuous and magic may be possible. Iceland--with its relative isolation, enchanting mythologies, creative people, and the otherworldly wild beauty of its glaciers, geysers, volcanos, and fjords--encompases this special magic in the minds of many, including writer Kurt Caswell.

Vividly illustrated by Julia Oldham, Iceland Summer recounts Caswell's journey traversing the country by foot and bus accompanied by his lifelong friend Scott. The pair set out from Reykjavík and travel clockwise along the Ring Road, stopping along the way for backcountry walking trips. Caswell immerses himself in the natural beauty and charming eccentricities of the tiny island nation. With his drinking and hiking buddy by his side, and fueled by a steady diet of Brennivín (fermented grain mash) and pylsur (Icelandic hot dogs), he explores the Hornstrandir peninsula, walks to the famed Dettifoss waterfall, waits for a glimpse of the lake monster Lagarfljótsormurinn at Egilsstaðir, visits the world's only penis museum, and pays homage to centuries of Icelandic literary tradition at the Árni Magnússon Institute.

Writing in the tradition of other pairs who have traveled in Iceland, like W. G. Collingwood and Jón Stefánsson, and W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, Caswell meditates on the value of wild places in the modern world, travel as both pastime and occupation, the nature of friendship, and walking, food, and literature. Scott is the Sancho Panza to Caswell's Don Quixote, offering a ribald humor that grounds Caswell's flights into the romantic. The two travel well together and together arrive at the understanding that what anchors them both is their lifelong friendship.

Author: Kurt Caswell
Publisher: Trinity University Press
Published: 10/24/2023
Pages: 190
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.90w x 0.60d
ISBN13: 9781595342690
ISBN10: 1595342699
BISAC Categories:
- Travel | Europe | Nordic Countries | Iceland & Greenland
- Travel | Special Interest | Literary
- Social Science | Folklore & Mythology

About the Author
Julia Oldham uses a range of media, from animation to graphic storytelling, to explore the complex relationships between nature and technology, humans and animals, and science and creativity. Her work has appeared in the book Iceland Summer and at the San Diego Art Institute, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Hirshhorn Museum, and elsewhere. She lives in New York City and Eugene, Oregon.