Blessed with an ear for music and a fine voice, Baldur finds his fortune but not his love. Smitten at an early age, Baldur is haunted by Lara-a girl of fey spirit destined to be both his muse and tormenter. The daughter of an intimidating and well-connected businessman, Lara leads Baldur from the small Manitoba community of New Iceland to the bustling streets of early twentieth-century Winnipeg. Along the way Baldur is befriended by a young Johnny Ashdown and together they cash in on the boom days of Canada's early west.
In this modern Icelandic saga, Baldur is buffeted by chance and opportunity in a competitive, unforgiving new world, seeking his one true love. David Arnason is an acclaimed novelist, writer of short fiction, and editor. A finalist for the Leacock Medal for Humour (King Jerry) and a winner of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award (The Imagined City), David has taught at the University of Manitoba since 1972. He has served as both the acting head of the Department of Icelandic Studies and head of the Department of English. Currently, he lives and writes in Gimli, MB. "The tone swings between light-hearted comedy and sombre drama, and the novel both mourns and celebrates the lives of the early Icelandic settlers...Arnason's writing is clear and crisp (and) will satisfy readers who want a moving, engrossing novel... he describes Winnipeg as it must have seemed through the eyes of its early entrepreneurs."
