South Window

An author struggles to write his next novel while living near a small village. The book follows the writer's journey over the course of four seasons, as it becomes apparent that his difficulties writing are a reflection of the problems in his own life. He sequesters himself in a summer house belonging to a friend, his view of the world coming mostly from listening to news on the radio. His typewriter fights him all the way, the bars get tangled and stick together, the letter b is out of alignment, and his ribbon gradually runs out of ink, the letters growing fainter with each passing season. He composes letters to his estranged wife, drives them to the post office, but never mails them. When he finally receives a letter from her, he burns it without even opening it. There are occasional interactions with people in the village when he isn't trying to write, but he increasingly cuts himself off from the outside world to the point where his publisher, and even his mother, stop calling. Beyond being just the diary of an artist trying to create in his chosen medium, The South Window is a story about solitude, loneliness, and the challenge of coping in a world that seems to change only for the worse.

Gyrðir Elíasson