Sléttan, Traces of Herring

by Jón Helgi Pálmason

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Designer: Einar V. Guðmundsson Thoroddsen

Text: Margrét Jóhannsdóttir

Paper: 160gr BioTop

160 pages

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All external photographs and text snippets were found on timarit.is (an Icelandic newspaper archive)

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​(Part of text in book)

On the other hand, life in the village revolved around the sea, fish, and work. In the years I remember, there was another boom in the village. This time it was based on cod and capelin fishing. Life revolved around the fishing seasons and fish processing.  This resulted in long working days. In fact, I hardly remember quiet times when there wasn't a lot of work. It seemed to me like everyone was always working, and hard work was a great virtue. We kids started working early, and we enjoyed it. I thought it was a great life; in my memory, it was just fun.

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While I only have positive memories related to hard work, the adults who experienced it may not agree. At least the parents encouraged us kids to leave the village, to pursue education, and to see and experience other things. Few of us came back, and it is fair to say that my generation mostly moved away from the village.​