Independent People - Halldór Laxness

My rating: 5/5


Book review:

What does it mean being independent? Stop for a moment and think: do you consider yourself an independent person? I've never asked myself this question seriously before reading this novel, although I've always tried to preserve my freedom by sticking to a few personal guidelines: I avoid becoming a working slave; I can't keep my mouth shut when I observe injustice or stupidity; I can't keep my head down to gain favors; I can't stand being tied to a person just out of politeness.


In my view, being independent means doing what you want to the farthest extent without obeying, humiliating yourself or giving up on your principles. Complete freedom is an illusion, because this world we are living in is not allowing us to be truly independent, unless we flee to the mountains and live a hermit's life. In the end, we need money, we need things, we need people. But we can be smart and find ways to do what we actually want; push the boundaries and gain as much freedom as we can; live for ourselves and not for the others. 

In Bjartur's view, being independent means that he doesn't rely upon anybody and he is prepared to fight till the very end to preserve his independence. Through sickness, poverty, hunger and death, he relies upon himself only and does not ask for help. He does not flee and hide, he stays put and stubbornly fights every force that wants to kneel him down, be it nature, people, systems or supernatural forces. He may be stronger and tougher than most, but he is merely a human being in the end. He doesn't have the limitless powers of a God and the world tries to crush him with its iron fist.

Maybe you are wondering what is the outcome of Bjartur's fight for independence. I can only tell you that his strong will is not enough when confronted with the powerful tide of economic and political changes. It is a battle between unequal forces, but is his struggle worthless, like an ant's bite to an elephant foot? The masses hold the power, but it takes one individual to ignite the spark of change. He is a mere disposable human being and he might be defeated in the end, but this doesn't mean he can't rise again and find new ways of striving for his independence. 

As human beings, our weakness will always be attachment and love. We lose some of our freedom because we enjoy doing something or we are crazy in love. We become dependent. Like I've became dependent on a certain community; I can't imagine my future reading life without being able to share my thoughts and receiving answers in return. I'm addicted and this is compromising my independence, but it's an addiction I don't want to be cured of. I'll never be a truly independent person unless I give up caring.

Bjartur owns his land and, still, he is in peril of losing it. Economic interests will always find a way to crush him. Our problem is that we don't own a parcel, we only own our thoughts and ideas. We could take them with us and leave an empty shell which will become worthless. We can't be fighting for our place here because we are mere tenants, and not even that; we can be kicked out any time. But we want to fight because of our attachment to a world of thought and ideas that we have created. 

  

We could close our computers, step in the real world and forget that this beautiful realm of though ever existed. But what do we find in the world outside, are we actually free there? Because what's happening here is only a recreation of the real world, at a smaller scale. There are rules upon rules everywhere and we actually obey many of them. It's not possible to create a perfect, truly independent world. Only, this situation is more sarcastic because it's happening in the land of books, where freedom of speech (in the limits of decency) should be present in the same way as a book, whether good or bad, has the right to be present. 

So we could deal with this situation in the same way we are dealing with our lives. We could do what we want and what we love to the farthest extent without obeying, humiliating ourselves or giving up on our principles. Take the good parts, ignore the bad parts. I know this is harder because we are tenants on somebody else's land and the new rules are in conflict with our principles. Maybe it's one of those moments when we need to be smart and earn our independence bit my bit, without fleeing to the mountains.

I wonder what Bjartur would do if he were in our shoes. We should not fool ourselves the way he did, indulging in ideals of limitless independence. 

This novel is simply amazing. I urge you to leave everything that you're doing right now and read it. You won't regret it, even though you might die of laughter or drown in your own tears. Because, if your heart is not cold as stone, you'll laugh and cry and laugh some more and cry some more.