The Master and Margarita

The book is very popular with Icelanders. It has a very Nordic feeling to it, even though it is Russian. It ridicules bureaucracy, it has black magic and Arctic magic realism. You could say it is ‘Alice in Wonderland’ for the Arctic grown-up. Of course, you have to watch for the Nordic cliché. ‘Hello ! I am a Viking ! My name is Björk !’ A friend of mine says that when record-company executives come to Iceland they ask the bands if they believe in elves, and whoever says yes gets signed up.

The New Yorker, 30 august 2004