Despite being the most peaceful country in the world for the past seven years in a row according to the Global Peace Index from the Institute for Economics and Peace, there exists an inconsistency between what appears to be true and the reality of what is true in Iceland. Isolated with a modest population, not much is known of the island-country of Iceland outside of Europe. Since little news of Iceland (or Scandinavia as a whole) is broadcast to the Americas, the social issues must be shared in a different manner. Scandinavian crime novelists have “transformed the genre into a sort of thrilling social exposé of matters both big and small” (Michaelis 17). Through their writings, readers around the world are able to learn about the problems within Scandinavia. In Jar City, Arnaldur Indridason displays the Icelanders’ sentiments towards the amount of violence and crime, their distrust towards the police and doctors, and their concerns over the collection of genetic data in their country. The novel begins with a series of crimes within the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik. A stranger attempts to rob a house but beats up two women in the process. Meanwhile, an elderly man named Holberg is found murdered in his nearby flat. The lead detective on the case, Erlendur, remarks …show more content…
The country may be one of the most peaceful overall according to the Global Peace Index, but this does not present the full picture. For example, sexually violent crimes only play a small role in their ranking methodology. The United Nations reports that Iceland has one of the top ten rates of police-recorded rape per 100,000 people (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). As noted in the novel, these numbers may be further deflated as there are many crimes that go unreported or dismissed. Through Jar City, readers are exposed to the violent crimes within Iceland that they are not accustomed to hearing about from this