Andri Snær Magnason

Tímakistan (The Casket of Time) is about a familiar but at the same time strange future, where mankind is waiting for better times in black boxes, where time stands still as long as people stay inside them. But in the meantime, the state of the world becomes radically worse, until some children take off and are told a fairy story by an old woman about a king who wanted to conquer time and acquired the first time casket to protect his daughter from time.  Everything goes completely wrong for this king, just as when the people in the story's present time decide to hide in a black box and wait for others to save the world.

In Tímakistan (The Casket of Time) the present, future and past merge together in an unforgettable fairy tale world, which is recognisable to everyone but which no-one has ever lived in. It is in this magical intertwining of facts, truths, witchcraft and wonder that Andri Snær Magnason poses insistent questions about western contemporary way of life and values, and about the individual's responsibility for the state of the world. The novel grapples with the concept of time and overturns old fairy tale themes with passionate ingenuity. Andri Snær Magnason is one of the most influential Icelandic authors of recent years, a sharp social critic who interweaves a clear message with humour. He has often taken politicians and large financial institutions to task in his works, and Tímakistan (The Casket of Time) is no exception in this regard.