Story of Asta

Jón Kalman Stefánsson

This is a story about love, sensuality and sex. About the Icelandic countryside, poetry and the desire to know the world. About children, those kept by their parents and those raised by strangers. About life and death. And Ásta.

The Story of Ásta is told by a dying man, Sigvaldi. He and Helga, Ásta’s parents, chose her name – “love” in Icelandic – while she was still in the womb after they read Independent People by Halldór Laxness. Sigvaldi, a writer, has now fallen down a ladder and is lying on the pavement.

Sigvaldi’s life flows through his mind. His wife Helga, wild and poetic, ran away from a mundane life in Reykjavik, leaving their two daughters to the foster-care system. Ásta is their youngest.

Jón Kalman Stefánsson (1963)

His first published work, the poetry collection, Með byssuleyfi á eilífðina, came out in 1988. He has published two other collections of poetry and a number of novels. Jón moved to Keflavík when he was 12 and returned to Reykjavík in 1986 with his highschool diploma. From 1975 – 1982 he spent a good deal of his time in West Iceland, where he did various jobs: worked in a slaughterhouse, in the fishing industry, doing ... More.

Zuzana Stankovitsová (1985)

Since 2010 she lives in Iceland, where she studied at the University of Iceland modern Icelandic, and Icelandic history. She holds a degree in Translation Studies from the Commenius University in Bratislava. Since 2010 she has been living in Iceland, where she studied modern Icelandic as well as Medieval Icelandic Studies at the University of Iceland. She is currently ... More.

Mária Rojko (1978)

​Slovak graphic designer living and working in Bratislava. The author of several book covers, booklets and corporate visuals. In September 2014, together with Ida Želinská, opened a gallery focused on book illustrations TOTO! je galéria. Slovak graphic designer living and working in Bratislava. The author of several book covers, booklets and corporate visuals. In September 2014, together with Ida Želinská, opened a gallery focused on book illustrations TOTO! je galéria. More.