Novelist, poet, and dramatist, Gunnarsson was prolific in all the genres he chose, including the short story and historical novel. Like many other Icelandic writers, Gunnarsson spent a period in Copenhagen, returning to Iceland in 1939 and writing in both Danish and Icelandic.
He is known as a brilliant interpreter of Icelandic life, particularly that of its humble people, and as a writer of subtle psychological novels of romantic theme. The Black Cliffs (1939) is one of these, having to do with a young couple's involvement in a sensational murder case. The History of the Family at Borg (1912--14), translated as Guest the One-Eyed (1920), and the autobiographical The Church on the Mountain (1923--28) are Gunnarsson's best-known works.
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