The Casket of Time
The Casket of Time
By Andri Snær Magnason
Translated from the Icelandic by Björg Arnadóttir and Andrew Cauthery
Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers | Ages 10 and up
A 2020 Green Earth Book Awards Honor Book
An entrancing adventure for today’s troubled planet, The Casket of Time is a fantastical tale of time travel and environmental calamity from celebrated Icelandic author Andri Snær Magnason.
Hardcover • ISBN: 9781632062055
Publication date: Apr 9, 2019
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About the Book
Teenage Sigrun is sick of all the apocalyptic news about the “situation” and, worse, her parents’ obsession with it. Sigrun’s family—along with everyone else—decides to hibernate in their TimeBoxes®, hoping for someone else to fix the world’s problems . But when Sigrun’s TimeBox® opens too early, she discovers an abandoned city overrun by wilderness and joins a band of kids who are helping a researcher named Grace solve the “situation.”
The world, according to Grace, is under an ancient curse. There once was a princess named Obsidiana, who was trapped in time by the greedy king of Pangea. To protect Obsidiana from dark and gloomy days, the king put her in a crystal casket made of spider silk woven so tightly that time itself couldn’t penetrate. The king’s greed for power doomed his kingdom and the trapped princess. Sigrun sees eerie parallels between the tale of Obsidiana and the present-day crisis, and realizes it’s up to her and her friends to break the ancient curse and fix the world.
Praise for The Casket of Time
Winner of The Icelandic Literary Prize for Children and Young People’s Books
Winner of The Icelandic Booksellers Prize for Best Teenage Book of the Year
Nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize
Nominated for the The West Nordic Literature Prize
Nominated for the Reykjavik Children’s Literature Prize
"I loved this book so much — it is a cerebral tale, well told and unabashedly philosophical. So grim that I fear it will not be for everyone…But despite the beheadings, the grave-robbing, the people casually thrown to the lions, the central message of the book is clear, and it’s welcome. Greed hurts us; power ruins us; and time has never been our enemy. Indeed, Magnason reminds us, as long as our tendency toward self-destruction doesn’t get in the way, time is the earth’s, and humanity’s, greatest healer.”
—Kelly Barnhill, New York Times Book Review
“Andri Snær Magnason has created an intimate epic that floats effortlessly between genres as diverse as fairy tale and political commentary, science fiction and social realism. The Casket of Time spans the chasm between ‘once upon a time’ and ‘have you heard the news today’ in a way that makes his philosophical fable feel both timely and timeless.”
—Bjarke Ingels, Architect
“The story confronts the concept of time and twists old fairy-tale memories with a passionate creativity.”
—The Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize Citation
“[A] beautiful and haunting Snow White–inspired tale…. Magnason, a celebrated writer and the second runner-up in Iceland’s 2016 presidential election, has woven a literary fantasy with environmentalist themes that will find fans among thoughtful young readers.”
— Eleanor Roth, Booklist
“The power of story animates a tale that communicates—but is not overpowered by—urgent messages.”
“The largest box of chocolate written in the Icelandic language that I have ever laid my hands on... This is confectionery for the mind!... This is a book for the 3 year old, the 30 year old, the 300 year old.”
—Audur Haraldsdóttir, Channel 2, National Radio (Iceland)
"This is a book I would put on a shelf with The Hobbit, Alice in Wonderland and The Little Prince. A children's story but it would be very good for adults to read it as well."
—Eric Lorberer of Rain Taxi Review
About Yonder
Yonder is a new imprint from Restless Books devoted to bringing the wealth of great stories from around the globe to English-reading children, middle graders, and young adults. Books from other countries, cultures, viewpoints, and storytelling traditions can open up a universe of possibility, and the wider our view, the more powerfully books enrich and expand us. In an increasingly complex, globalized world, stories are potent vehicles of empathy. We believe it is essential to teach our kids to place themselves in the shoes of others beyond their communities, and instill in them a lifelong curiosity about the world and their place in it. Through publishing a diverse array of transporting stories, Yonder nurtures the next generation of savvy global citizens and lifelong readers.
About the Author
Andri Snær Magnason is an Icelandic writer, born in Reykjavik on the 14th of July 1973. Andri has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays and films. He studied Icelandic literature at the University of Iceland. His novel LoveStar got a Philip K. Dick Special Citation, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire in France, and “Novel of The Year” in Iceland. The Story of the Blue Planet was the first children’s book to receive the Icelandic Literary Award and has been published or performed in 35 countries. The Story of the Blue Planet received the Janusz Korczak Honorary Award in Poland 2000. Andri has collaborated with various artists. He has been active in the fight for preserving the nature of Iceland. His book Dreamland: A Self Help Manual for a Frightened Nation takes on these issues and has sold more than 20,000 copies in Iceland. He co directed Dreamland, a feature-length documentary film based on the book. Footage from an interview with Andri can be seen in the Oscar Award winning documentary Inside Job by Charles Ferguson. His most recent book, The Casket of Time, has now been published in about 10 languages and was nominated as the best fantasy book in Finland in 2016, along with books by Ursula K. le Guin and David Mitchell. Andri Snær lives in Reykjavík with his wife Margrét, and four children.
About the Translators
Born and educated in Reykjavík, Björg Árnadóttir has lived and worked in England since 1971; her British husband, Andrew Cauthery, is fluent in Icelandic. They have worked together for many years, translating both English texts into Icelandic and Icelandic texts into English. They have worked on a wide variety of manuscripts, including books on Icelandic nature and technical topics, as well as literature. Literary works in Icelandic include translations of Wind in the Willows for Iceland State Radio and A Map of Nowhere by Gillian Cross, for Mál og Menning. Works in English include three crime novels (House of Evidence, Daybreak, and Sun on Fire) by Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson for Amazon Crossing, and And the Wind Sees All by Guðmundur Andri Thorsson, published by Peirene Press in September 2018.
THIS BOOK IS PUBLISHED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE ICELANDIC LITERATURE CENTER AND SIBF
Book Details
Hardcover: $17.99
ISBN: 9781632062055
eBook ISBN: 9781632062062
Publication date: Apr 9, 2019
5.5" x 8.25" • 240 pages
Middle Grade Fiction: Adventure / Fairy Tale / Science Fiction / Mythology / Environmentalism
Ages: 10 and up
Territory: World English
We’re so delighted to announce that Daniel and Ismail and The Casket of Time have been named to USBBY’s 2020 Outstanding International Books List!