What the Bear Said: Skald Tales from New Iceland — W.D. Valgardson

Past winner of INL Reads!

A land of volcanoes, geothermal pools, and barren wilderness, Iceland is full of mists and mystery.

Bears, wolves, fish, forests, swamps, harsh winters, insect-infested summers, the unpredictable waters of Lake Winnipeg, people disappearing because of forces of nature or forces of the human heart, all provide a wealth of material from which Turnstone Press's first published author draws his inspiration.

A bear whose thoughts fill a fisherman's mind like ink in water, an ancient sturgeon who rescues a fair maid from drowning, and mischievous Christmas sprites who protect a poor girl from a nightmarish marriage: these and more tales combine a canon of Icelandic folklore with the landscape and wildlife of Canada for a truly absorbing reading experience.

In this collection of stories, W.D. Valgardson creates new legends, capturing the settlers' experience in New Iceland: how they tried to explain the unexplainable, and preserve the memories of loved ones for future generations. Blurring lines between reality and fantasy, Valgardson continues to be one of Canada's foremost storytellers