Looking for the Hidden Folk: How Iceland's Elves Can Save the Earth by Nancy Marie Brown

Looking for the Hidden Folk: How Iceland's Elves Can Save the Earth Reviews

• 
  Janalyn Prude

  Looking For The Hidden Folk by Nancy Marie Brown was so interesting we learned about Iceland‘s history and their history with elves and Faye folk. As well as her many trips to the country and things she experienced while there. I love reading about stuff like this and was not disappointed with this audiobook. I thought the narration was good and the information definitely interesting. Even if you have a passing interest in the topic I think you would find this book interesting she talks about the many beliefs of the Icelanders and the links they will go to protect a creature most don’t even believe in God as I said all of it was so interesting and I’m glad I listen to this audiobook. I received it from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
• 
  Hope

  A Big Book…in so many ways…
  
  I stumbled across this marvelous book, while looking for something entirely different. The title lured me in. (That, and a longtime obsession with Iceland.) But the title is deceptive. Yes, there are elves and trolls. And Icelandic history and culture. And volcanoes. (And a lot of really long, consonant-stuffed names.)But there is also the human brain, and how it works to create our “reality.” And how our present reality is shaped by our commodification of nature, aka Capitalism, to the detriment of our lives and our planet. It is a plea for the return of our innate spirituality and magical thinking. Our connection to wonder. It does not require belief in elves. But it does require an opening, a shift, in our perceptions. This is a powerful book. A Big Book, in all aspects. Highly recommended.
• 
  Linda Gaines

  I think this is categorized as a travel book, and wherever it was I found a recommendation about this book, I know it said sort of a travel book. It is not a travel book. It is about Iceland, but I don't see how that makes it a travel book. It sort of a history book. I think it is far more a religion or mythology book, but both those words have connotations, that don't necessarily apply. The main thesis of the book in my opinion is why do we make fun of people in Iceland who believe in elves, and why is it a belief as opposed to knowing. This is where is sort of goes to religion. I thought the book was interesting, but I think I would have gotten more out of it if I knew more about Icelandic or even Scandinavian mythology or folklore. That is part of the reason I gave it two stars because there was just so much introduced I could barely follow or remember what the author had referred to a couple of chapters before. It could have been better organized also. One of my issues with the book is probably not the fault of the author in that the subtitle is how the elves can save the Earth. The last quarter of the book vaguely goes into that idea, but it is so subtle that it is really not there. Certainly there is no good (or even bad) argument made about this idea. It seems to be more about elves and respecting the Earth, but that is about it.
• 
  Lynda

  I felt like I was reading a high schooler's research paper. It was all over the place and really not that much info about the elves in there. I did pick out a few books she mentioned and added them to my TBR. Hopefully they are better.
• 
  Cathryn

  I felt like this book was all over the place.
• 
  Ann Dudzinski

  The subtitle of this book is: How Iceland’s Elves Can Save the Earth. Elves? Cool. I pre-ordered the audiobook expecting something magical, something folklorish, something about elves. Silly me. This book covers a lot of ground, but most of it is not about elves.
  
  It possibly ought to have been subtitled “Why I love Iceland,” because it was half a travel documentary, half everything but the kitchen sink that had to do with Iceland. The author jumped around from elvish seers, lava fields, quantum physics, Icelandic folklore, Icelandic sagas, witches, the act of seeing, volcanos, volcanic documentaries, magical mountains, J.R.R. Tolkein, and farmhouse construction. That’s just what I remember off the top of my head. The narrator’s voice was calm and pleasant to listen to. Unfortunately, I listened to most of this book on my commute to and from work and since her tone was so soothing, I didn’t retain a lot of the information coming at me. And there was a ton of information. The author is obviously knowledgeable about her subject, having visited there 30-some times. I figure she must have been Icelandic in at least one past life.
  
  It was an interesting listen, but not remotely what I was expecting. If I had wanted a survey on Iceland, I’d be rating it higher because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this book - except for the synopsis luring in unsuspecting listeners who want to hear about elves. In fact, the last line of the synopsis intimates that if we all believed in elves like Icelanders do, we could save the earth from climate change. While there are several studies presented that suggest a portion of Icelanders believe in elves, it’s hardly the majority of the country. In fact, elvish seers (those who can see elves) seem to be scoffed at. The author admits to rolling her eyes at one the first time she met her. Hardly a convincing argument that elves are real and should be taken seriously.
  
  If you’re looking for a general study on Iceland, pick this up. If you want something magical about elves, you might be disappointed.
  
• 
  Kylie

  It was a good insight into Iceland and the Norwegian folk lore.
  
  Definitely makes me want to visit.
• 
  Rob Barry

  WoW - loved this one! After reading the library book, I ran out and bought a copy - will be reading again and again 😀👍
  
  “Does anyone really know what ‘to believe’ means? Or is ‘belief,’ like ‘elf,’ simply a convenient vessel to pour our thoughts into?”
  
  “They are a symbol to me of the door that is not a door to the Otherworld that is not another world.”
• 
  Heidi

  I wanted to love this book, but it fell really short of my expectations. It was all over the place, and I still haven’t figured out if it told me how Iceland’s elves would save the world.
• 
  Jo

  3.5 stars. I liked it but it also put me to sleep very effectively. A rambling around Iceland and literature and vague ideas about elves and other faerie folk. If there was a made about how these ideas could save the world I’m afraid I might’ve fallen asleep and missed it.
• 
  Sienna

  This was a Christmas present from my mom, who knows I love cold places and folklore and the relationship between landscape and belief. Let's start out with the good: Brown is passionate about Iceland and its people. The chapters that actually address huldufólk and Icelandic history are interesting and compelling. Unfortunately... I hated the remaining two-thirds of the book.
  
  Unsupported by comprehensive research beyond the author's many visits to "my island," it reads as subjective and unfocused, the tales cherry-picked. I felt as though I was being led not by an expert, but a person who feels possessive about a place that is not her own. An entire chapter is dedicated to chastising Rebecca Solnit for having a different experience in Iceland despite also encountering a person that Brown befriended in the '80s. I'm not sure her failure to develop an enduring relationship with that person is actually a failure; I am sure that it's not relevant to the supposed topic of this book.
  
  I can guess who the "farmer who spoke only Icelandic" might be, since I have been friends with the farmer at Helgafell, Hjortur Hinriksson, for thirty-five years. It's something he would do, give a stranger a lift. If Solnit had tried a few words of Icelandic on him [...] he would have tried to speak with her. I know, because I did and he spoke with me.
  
  Reader, I cringed.
  
  As a sort of unconscious sociological document, this book is fascinating. I think we all know what it's like to be possessive of an idea, a thing, a place; to incorporate it into our self-perception, our very identity; to Have Feelings when we recognize that others have their own relationships, different but no less valid, with it. Brown expresses a sense of affront to those other relationships that struck me as both disproportionate and bizarre.
  
  It's not always easy returning to real life. For although my island that likes to be visited is "real"—it's on the map, you can fly to it—my island is not the island you will likely find.
  
  The tension here between a place where real people live and love and die, struggle and thrive, and the place that exists in Brown's head — and in this book — is palpable. Her relationship with Iceland is long and rich. She has exported its ponies, visited it dozens of time (n.b. some major unacknowledged underlying financial privilege), explored and loved its terrain and people. But it's a jealous, fractious love, critical of other perspectives. Even in quoting saga scholar ("and writer of romance novels") Carol Hoggart, whose 2010 paper influenced Brown's perspective on stories, is described as though she's committed an affront (emphasis below is mine):
  
  For saga pilgrims like me, says Hoggart, rather dismissively, "The terrain is seen positively to glow with an identity sourced from medieval texts."
  
  My complaints are many, but the other I want to highlight here is utter astonishment that Brown has made a living as a science writer. In the third chapter, "Otherworlds," she asks a question that recurs throughout the book: what does it mean for something to be real? Why are we inclined to dismiss those who believe in elves but accept the concept of gravity? Her answer, "because science," leads to a weird summary of other people's pop-science explanations of quantum mechanics for laypeople. It's as though she read and quoted two secondary sources, alongside Wikipedia, in order to write a chapter on the multiverse and dark matter.
  
  We all know the truism about writing what you know, and I wish she'd done that here, rather than attempting poor secondhand explanations of concepts she's not clear on. This is a shame — she is right to center our understanding of reality throughout this book, and it would be fascinating to look at both elves and "science" as explanatory frameworks for our experience of being in the world. It is crucial for us to realize that both our old and current explanations are full of the unknown. Knowledge and belief are both essential parts of consciousness.
  
  It's funny — despite finding this book chaotic and disappointing, I think I'd be willing to give one of Brown's other works, especially those on the sagas, a shot. She is attuned to the relationship between words and land, the way the landscape comes to life through the familiar language of the sagas, just as the sagas come to life through the landscape. She quotes Robert Macfarlane and Nan Shepherd and Ursula Le Guin. (Those quotes are more beautifully written than the rest of the book. I would describe Brown as a serviceable writer.)
  
  Alas, I can't recommend this to anyone. Try Gretel Ehrlich's This Cold Heaven for a poetic and less fraught account of a relationship with a cold land. Try reading the sagas, or compilations of Iceland folklore. But give this one a miss.
• 
  Kalena

  Non-fiction. This author examines the beliefs of Icelanders—including elves—from multiple disciplines, including history, science, religion, and art. This exploration of the natural and supernatural leads to unexpected places form ancient lava fields, to a holy mountain beside a glacier, an erupting volcano, crossing the inner island on horseback, and many readings and conversations. At first I was thrown off by the subtitle, How Iceland’s Elves Can Save the Earth, and feel this may be a problem for people who are expecting something different—it could be marketed in a clearer manner. Despite this, I quickly settled into this study of Iceland. I loved the great range of topics and perspectives. Additionally, I appreciated the use of both ancient and current day references. This was informative and thought-provoking, making me wish for a physical copy as this begs for photographs and/or illustrations to expand the experience. The narrator, Ann Richardson, has such a pleasant voice and enhanced the reading. Honestly, this was an invigorating read, making me want to further appreciate Iceland in person. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
• 
  Mike

  This book inspired me in so many different ways, and left me amazed and looking at the world, and my own perceptions of it, through a lens of renewed wonder and speculation. Brown uses the Icelandic belief in elves and hidden folk as a jumping off point through which to examine the ways in which we tell and value stories, the ways in which science can both explain and fall short of explanation, and most importantly, how our beliefs can impact, positively or negatively, the land and Earth in which we live. I have a test that is sure fire when it comes to rating a book. It's called the subway stop test, and a book passes it when I become so engrossed in its pages that I miss my subway stop. Nancy Marie Brown's book left me so tangles in its knots of stories and volcanoes and Icelandic mysteries that I found myself walking home pondering it two stops past my station. I couldn't put it down, and the hidden folk, just at the edges of my perception, are waving to me as I type this. This is a one of a kind book.
• 
  Patrick Macke

  If not for one word I'd have never ever considered such a book; that word is "elves" and I wanted to learn of them, talk to them and sign up for whatever they could teach me ... That really never happens in this book and so, I'm not really sure what the book is about; the tagline, "how Iceland's elves can save the earth" is totally misleading ... I suppose the book is mostly concerned with the natural landscape of Iceland, it's kind of a travel book, which is cool if you care about that (I do not) but then you should keep the elves out of it (it's false elf advertising) ... Maybe this is what the author is trying to say: if everyone looked at our natural resources and landscapes as if they were inhabited by families of elves (and I'm down with this) maybe we'd be less likely to destroy them ... But I still say that if that's the point then this book would be easier to recommend if it said way more about elves and way less about volcanoes
• 
  Amy Lee

  Looking for the Hidden Folk I was looking forward to reading cuz I thought it would be interesting to see how Icelandic people view shall we say the little people after listening for 3 hours to the book I was very bored. The orator although not bad had a very monotonous voice and I don't know if maybe that led to me not enjoying the book at all.
  
  I felt like you were trying to prove your point with so much scientific research that you had done on something that I think you missed the point that I didn't feel it pertained. I would have to say I would pass on reading this book again.
• 
  Lynne

  This is a unique book in which you will want to put away your idea of linear constructs. It is part philosophy of language and storytelling or writing, part Icelandic sagas, and part how Icelanders view or experience the natural world. The philosophy part in the first third of the book was the hardest for me. The best part was Ch 17 about Snaefellsjokull, probably my favorite place that I visited in Iceland this summer, a thin place.
• 
  Scott Frank

  From the locations Brown talks about, it sounds like the Snaefellsnes peninsula may be Brown's favorite part of Iceland; it's my favorite part as well, and so this book, in particular, resonated with me. Would this book be as meaningful if you haven't spent any time in Iceland? Maybe, maybe not? But for my part it's nice to read a book by someone who is, like me, an American who has fallen in love with - and frequently visits - the country.
• 
  Emma Nicholson

  I loved this book! It’s about Iceland and beliefs and faith and science and how they enter twine. The part where the author writes about witnessing an erupting volcano and comparing it to a dragon is brilliant - it was my favourite part. She compares much of Tolkien’s lands to Iceland, where she thinks his inspiration came from.
  I’m surprised this book doesn’t rate higher in general.
• 
  Theresa

  Had a hard time following this book
• 
  Kelly Furniss

  A fascinating place I knew little about before reading this.
  Now I know the history, nature, climate and the fun folklore mythology.
  A unique read I would recommend.
• 
  Bethany

  Absolutely poetic.
• 
  Sarah Loescher Splinter

  It felt like I was reading the ramblings of an author who wasn't quite sure where the book was going. I got 2/4 done and stopped reading.
• 
  Amanda

  This book is more of a collection of essays than one long sustained argument as you might suppose from the subtitle, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable anyway.
• 
  Carrie

  So much fun. Excellent research, but also just an amusing collection of stories and history of Iceland focused on the Hidden Folk. I’m a little obsessed with Iceland so this book is perfect for me.
• 
  Shana Zucker

  Interesting information but not delivered in an organized way. The title was misleading as this is not the book’s thesis (or rather it is unclear what the book’s thesis was, but it wasn’t this).
• 
  Dan Nelson

  Excellent. More a philosophical book about how you might believe in elves without really saying they exist in flesh and blood. Not a lot of detail about elves so it is less folk-lore than talking about belief and the relationships to thought and land and so forth. Her writing is always well researched and draws on all the things she has read on the topics and from her visits to Iceland. Highly recommended.