If I believed everything everyone had ever told me about my family I'd be a sight more miserable than I am now

I have a deep and ongoing love of Iceland, particular the landscape, and when writing Burial Rites, I was constantly trying to see whether I could distill its extraordinary and ineffable qualities into a kind of poetry.

Cruel birds, ravens, but wise. And creatures should be loved for their wisdom if they cannot be loved for kindness.

I don't want to be remembered, I want to be here!

In Iceland, you can see the contours of the mountains wherever you go, and the swell of the hills, and always beyond that the horizon. And theres this strange thing: youre never sort of hidden; you always feel exposed in that landscape. But it makes it very beautiful as well.

It’s not fair. People claim to know you through the things you’ve done, and not by sitting down and listening to you speak for yourself.

The treachery of a friend is worse than that of a foe.