The Casket Of Time
Published on 23. May 2019
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-63206-205-5 (ISBN)
Description
When a new contraption called TimeBox, which allows people to hibernate through the current terrible economic situation, comes onto the market, Sigrun's family - along with everyone else - decides to sleep through the bad times. But something goes wrong, and Sigrun wakes up too soon. The city is in ruins, unruly forests and wild animals have taken over the streets, and all the grown-ups refuse to wake up. The only signs of civilization are a band of kids like Sigrun, led by Grace - a grandmotherly and mystical researcher. The world, according to Grace, is under an ancient curse. Now it's up to them to break the curse, save their families, and mend the world before it's too late.
Reviews / Votes
"The love child of Chomsky and Lewis Carroll." -- Rebecca Solnit, author of Call Them by Their True Names "I have not previously seen the fairy tale genre so well tied up with a sci-fi story, a fantasy tale and a contemporary drama all at once. It really is elegant and full of surprises. I am therefore not at all surprised that the book has already won a few awards in Iceland. It would not surprise me if it also won the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize." * Weekendavisen, Denmark * "The story confronts the concept of time and twists old fairy-tale memories with a passionate creativity." * The Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize * "A sparkling and entertaining adventure story in two time eras with a clear moral which, however, never turns into a sermon." * Frettabladid * "The largest box of chocolate written in the Icelandic language that I have ever laid my hands on... This is confectionery for the mind! Wow! It is so good that I forgot to make notes ... This is a book for the 3 year old, the 30 year old, the 300 year old." -- Audur Haraldsdottir * Channel 2, National Radio * "Here we have a timeless fairy tale, and Magnason's depiction of this magical world is magnificently well realized." -- Jon Bjarki Magnusson * DV Daily * "This is a book I would put on a shelf with The Hobbit, Alice in Wonderland and The Little Prince. A children's story but it would be very good for adults to read it as well."-Eric Lorberer of Rain Taxi Review * Rain Taxi Review * "I loved this book so much - it is a cerebral tale, well told and unabashedly philosophical. So grim that I fear it will not be for everyone...But despite the beheadings, the grave-robbing, the people casually thrown to the lions, the central message of the book is clear, and it's welcome. Greed hurts us; power ruins us; and time has never been our enemy. Indeed, Magnason reminds us, as long as our tendency toward self-destruction doesn't get in the way, time is the earth's, and humanity's, greatest healer."
-Kelly Barnhill, New York Times Book Review * New York Times Book Review * "The power of story animates a tale that communicates-but is not overpowered by-urgent messages."
-Kirkus Reviews * Kirkus Reviews *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Children/juvenile
Reading Age: From 10 to 14 years
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
438 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-63206-205-5 (9781632062055)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Andri Snaer Magnason is an Icelandic writer, born in Reykjavik on the 14th of July 1973. Andri has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays and films. He studied Icelandic literature at the University of Iceland. His novel LoveStar got a Philip K. Dick Special Citation, the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire in France, and "Novel of the year" in Iceland. The Story of the Blue Planet was the first children's book to receive the Icelandic Literary Award and has been published or performed in 35 countries. The Story of the Blue Planet received the Janusz Korczak Honorary Award in Poland 2000. Andri has collaborated with various artists. He has been active in the fight for preserving the nature of Iceland. His book Dreamland: A Self Help Manual for a Frightened Nation takes on these issues and has sold more than 20,000 copies in Iceland. He co-directed Dreamland, a feature-length documentary film based on the book. Footage from and an interview with Andri can be seen in the Oscar Award winning documentary Inside Job by Charles Ferguson. His most recent book, The Casket of Time, has now been published in about 10 languages and was nominated as the best fantasy book in Finland 2016, along with books by Ursula K. le Guin and David Mitchell. Andri Snaer lives in Reykjavik with his wife Margret, and four children.
Born and educated in Reykjavik, Bjoerg Arnadottir has lived and worked in England since 1971; her British husband, Andrew Cauthery, is fluent in Icelandic. They have worked together for many years, translating both English texts into Icelandic and Icelandic texts into English. They have worked on a wide variety of manuscripts, including books on Icelandic nature and technical topics, as well as literature. Literary works in Icelandic include translations of Wind in the Willows for Iceland State Radio and A Map of Nowhere by Gillian Cross, for Mal og Menning. Works in English include three crime novels (House of Evidence, Daybreak, and Sun on Fire) by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson for Amazon Crossing, and And the Wind Sees All by Gu?mundur Andri Thorsson, published by Peirene Press in September 2018.
Born and educated in Reykjavik, Bjoerg Arnadottir has lived and worked in England since 1971; her British husband, Andrew Cauthery, is fluent in Icelandic. They have worked together for many years, translating both English texts into Icelandic and Icelandic texts into English. They have worked on a wide variety of manuscripts, including books on Icelandic nature and technical topics, as well as literature. Literary works in Icelandic include translations of Wind in the Willows for Iceland State Radio and A Map of Nowhere by Gillian Cross, for Mal og Menning. Works in English include three crime novels (House of Evidence, Daybreak, and Sun on Fire) by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson for Amazon Crossing, and And the Wind Sees All by Gu?mundur Andri Thorsson, published by Peirene Press in September 2018.