Arndís Þórarinsdóttir

Álfur is a gymnast, an incredibly good friend, a fantastic son, and the best big brother in the world. It seems at first there’s almost nothing that can bring him down. Not even gravity can stop him when he’s swinging around on the rings. But time and time again, when Álfur’s parents start to discuss his little brother Eiki’s autism, cracks emerge in his worldview, and he misses the time when they were “just an ordinary family”.

In Kollhnís (“Somersault”, not published in English), a powerful and original novel about a difficult subject, the reader follows the firm, bold lead of an unreliable narrator. As the story progresses, the reader begins to suspect that Álfur’s depictions are not entirely reliable. Þórarinsdóttir’s disciplined narrative style employs humour and love to artfully reveal how the narrator’s strong emotions distort his view of the people he admires.

As Álfur sees it, it’s up to him to stand up for his little brother, Eiki, because he’s trying to teach him how to be a normal guy and his mum and dad have given up. Álfur puts hundreds and thousands on Eiki’s food to get him to eat, and essentially uses the same method on himself in his attempts to hide the unpleasant taste of everything he doesn’t understand. “I think about how it would’ve been if everyone there had thought Eiki was autistic. Then they’d have looked at my little brother and seen something completely different than who he is. Everyone would’ve seen a disability. … No one would’ve seen Eiki.” Although a child himself, Álfur feels a strong need to take responsibility for those he cares about. Especially his little brother.

This is a story full of humanity and with a deep concern for its main theme – autism – and the complicated challenges accompanying it that both relatives and the individual face. Kollhnís reveals a complicated, multi-layered family dynamic and the painful emotions and harmful behaviours that often take root between people who are close to each other and which are rarely addressed in Icelandic children’s literature.

The distance between Álfur and his parents that is created by his denial of Eiki’s diagnosis becomes even greater when he starts visiting his aunt Harpa, who, as a gymnast, is also his role model. She lives the next street over, but his parents act as if she doesn’t exist, so Álfur keeps it secret that he has started spending time with her. It then turns out that Harpa has a drug problem, which draws Álfur into a perilous but realistic chain of events.

Þórarinsdóttir shows great respect in her handling of the shock a person feels when their world is turned upside down and all their thoughts about the future have to be adjusted for a new reality. Although the ugly words and prejudicial opinions found here will rouse strong feelings in the reader, they make the path towards acceptance more convincing. The portrayal of Álfur “giving up” in the face of the diagnosis, just as his parents did, is effectively rendered. We get to witness how, at his own pace, he builds up the courage to face reality and learn to like the unusual normality, or even the normal unusuality, of his family.

Arndís Þórarinsdóttir (born in 1982) is a writer and poet who has written many popular children’s books and won a number of prizes. She has previously been nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize. Kollhnís won the Icelandic Literature Prize in the category for children’s and young people’s literature in 2022.