Bragi Olafsson: The Pets

Bragi Olafsson, former bassist for the Sugarcubes (who were responsible for making Bjork a star), turned to another art form after leaving the band: literature.

Olafsson is the author of several books of poetry and short stories, and four novels. His novels include Time Off, The Pets, Party Games and The Ambassador, which was a finalist for the 2008 Nordic Literature Prize and received the Icelandic Bookseller’s Award as best novel of the year.

In a recent review of The Pets, the L.A. Times said, “The Pets is not about rock, at least not overtly. The novel follows two Icelanders who have recently returned from abroad: Emil Halldorsson, who’s been vacationing in London after winning the lottery, and Havard Knutsson, Emil’s former roommate, who’s been on a more involuntary vacation in a mental hospital in Sweden. Emil is a mostly nice guy, although he’s a mostly nice guy who seriously wants to cheat on his girlfriend with a stranger whom he first lusted after 15 years ago. Havard is a mostly unreconstructed psychopath.

“Havard comes to Reykjavik with a rare copy of Moby-Dick and a model ship, trying to track Emil down after several stops for vodka, coffee and felonies along the way. Emil hides under his bed when he sees his old roommate approaching, and stays there for the bulk of the novel, too embarrassed and frightened to reveal himself after Havard breaks into his apartment. Emil is forced to listen to Havard play his records, drink his liquor and smoke his cigarettes while Emil’s friends and acquaintances come over, one by one. The night turns into a freakishly awful party that Emil is increasingly unable to escape from.”

You can check out more about the book at L.A. Times blog and Amazon.com.