‘The Indian’: Poet, comedian fails to connect with his audience

Frustrated with his country in the midst of the 2009 global financial crisis, Icelandic poet and comedian Jon Gnarr founded a new political party (the Best Party), which focused on bringing levity and joy back into the world of politics. He then shocked the country by running for mayor of Reykjavik - and by winning.

While Gnarr has written a non-fiction book about his run for mayor, 'The Indian” (Deep Vellum, $14.95) is the story of Gnarr's childhood and the difficulties he faced as an especially active and intelligent child. The work is not a biography or a novel, he states in the opening passages: 'It isn't totally true, although there aren't any total lies in it either.”

The challenge with 'The Indian” is not its plausibility but how difficult it is to connect with young Gnarr. As a child he was impulsive, subject to periods of blind rage, and had little to no sense of empathy, as evidenced when he smashed a beloved neighbor's car, destroyed other children's property, and abused animals.

And while there are brief reflective moments where Gnarr explains the internal quandaries he felt as a child ('What they thought was 'normal” was a mystery to me. I don't see it until someone tells me”), these moments aren't enough to counter the bulk of the text where Gnarr comes off as an unsympathetic jerk.

This is an issue with the narrative structure. Instead of building to a central moment, the book's short chapters move from event to event, making it so readers have a very limited view of characters, happenings and outcomes. Having fewer events more deeply explored or including chapters told from Gnarr's perspective as an adult - where he has learned to manage his childhood issues and flourish - would go a long way to helping readers become emotionally invested in the story.

Even still it's fascinating to learn about Iceland and Icelandic culture. Gnarr just leaves us wanting more.