Iceland

From Publishers Weekly
Krusoe's whimsical, ironic debut novel (following his story collection, Blood Lake) conjures up Kafka on antidepressants, as Krusoe tracks the decidedly strange adventures of a typewriter repairman named Paul after one of his organs begins to disintegrate. Paul turns to an odd medical outfit known as "the Institute" for treatment and finds himself in a passionate interlude with the beautiful caretaker, Emily, in the swimming pool where the organs are kept. Emily disappears from Paul's life, only to be replaced by a carpet cleaner named Leo, who befriends Paul and then invites him on a trip to Iceland. Leo accidentally falls into a volcano, and Paul takes up with their tour guide, Greta; eventually, they marry and have two children, Inga and Ingo, but Paul's new family is killed in an avalanche. That tragedy sends him back to America, where he begins to hunt for Emily in piano bars, a search that leads to yet another affair, this time with a drug-addicted pianist named Calypso Sally. The financial crunch caused by her addiction transforms the duo into a cut-rate Bonnie and Clyde as they turn to robbery to make ends meet, though Paul still believes he will be reunited with Emily. Krusoe makes the wild plot twists work; his deadpan irony gives Paul a bizarre charm, and his ability to spin over-the-top yarns is superb, especially in the early going. The humor loses some bite down the stretch, but Krusoe's twisted, childlike observations on love, livelihood and the non sequiturs that dominate daily life are consistently entertaining and thought provoking.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
When Paul, a typewriter repairman afflicted with "orgagenic disintegration," needs an organ replacement, he visits an institute to pick one out. He has a whirlwind poolside affair with the nubile Emily, who swims among the organs to keep them happy and healthy. Paul then flies to Iceland, nearly dies in a volcano, has another instant love connection, marries, has two children, becomes the typewriter king of Iceland, loses his family in an avalanche, returns to California, has another affair with a bar owner, and is incarcerated. Whew! The only constant is his obsession with Emily, whom he meets again two decades later. This hilarious, highly literary romp employs unusual transitions and a wry, surrealistic tone. Krusoe, a writing teacher who has obviously mastered the craft, is also the author of a short story collection, Blood Lake. A modern mini-Odyssey, Iceland is an absolute delight. Highly recommended for all academic and public libraries. Jim Dwyer, California State Univ., Chico Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Krusoe's hypnotizing first novel questions memory and mortality through the disjointed adventures of the narrator, a typewriter repairman named Paul. Dying of an unexplained ailment, Paul has a chance romantic encounter at a peculiar "institute," where he was to choose a replacement internal organ from the nutrient-enhanced swimming pool. Then, during a visit to Iceland with his carpet cleaner, Paul falls into a volcano, meets his future wife, and fathers two children. Years later, a tragic avalanche sends him back home, where he falls in love sitting in a piano bar and does a stint in the penitentiary. Krusoe succeeds in keeping the surreal events of Paul's life engaging, easily shifting from melancholy to hilarity, even when Paul is meditating on the origin of a pesky stain on his rug. Paul and everyone he meets are prone to lengthy but rewarding Mamet-like passages of conversation on everything from the loneliness of human organs to where the middle of an ice cube goes when it melts. Krusoe's offbeat style and the occasional monstrous metaphor hold the story together and make for dizzying satire. A strange and memorable book. Carlos Orellana
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
Iceland begins with Paul arriving at a mysterious Institute to pick out—on doctor’s orders—a new internal organ. There he meets Emily, a young, bikini-clad woman hired to stimulate the organs preserved in a nutrient-enhanced swimming pool, and falls in love amidst a flurry of chlorine and kick-boards. In Jim Krusoe’s world, this is about as simple as life gets.Paul’s brief interlude with Emily sets the course for his extraordinary adventures, which involve a troublesome stain on Paul’s rug, a volcano, Paul’s marriage and children, six years in a piano bar, and a long stretch in the State Penitentiary. But throughout it all Paul keeps re-imagining that first afternoon by the pool-side with Emily, his one true love. Iceland is a novel of melancholic hilarity that along the way raises questions about the nature of memory, imagination, and desire.

About the Author
Jim Krusoe is the author of Blood Lake, a collection of short stories that was critically prasied and landed on the Los Angeles Times "Besteller List." His fiction has appeared in the Antioch Review, Bomb, and Iowa Review, among other places. He currently teaches in the Graduate Writing Program at Antioch University and at Santa Monica College. Iceland is his first novel.


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A work of great originality, humour, cunning, and charm. — Martin Amis


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