The Old Man and his Sons

Heðin Brú’s first novel, Lognbrá (Mirage), published in 1930, gave an account of the development of a boy in a Faroese village. Its sequel, Fastatøkur (Firm Grip), which appeared five years later, recounted the experiences of the hero as a young man on board the cutters.

Feðgar á Ferð (literally Father and Son on the Move), or The Old Man and His Sons, was first published in the original Faroese in 1940. In a light-hearted and witty way

It seemed to him as though God Himself had smitten off his hand; he bowed his head and gave God thanks: ‘I have deserved no better,’ he said. Then he went home with the three birds.

‘I understand, my dear,’ said his wife, seating herself by the fireplace. ‘I’m more troubled for your sake than for the shame of it, and I grudge those people who wish us ill