The Tricking of Freya
INLNA Reads explores Christina Sunley’s novel

 Photo: Lisa Keating

INLNA Reads kicks off 2025 with Christina Sunley’s The Tricking of Freya, a story about a young woman seeking to uncover the mystery behind a family secret, who is drawn into the strange and magical landscapes and history of her Icelandic heritage.

The main character, Freya Morris, links Western Icelandic communities in the United States with those in Canada to their shared Icelandic roots. Freya grows up in a quiet suburb in Connecticut, but every summer visits her relatives in Gimli, Manitoba. There, she stays with her eccentric Aunt Birdie who fires her imagination with sagas of exotic Norse goddesses and capricious Viking explorers, and stories of her late grandfather, who was a poet. Then something happens, and Freya turns her back on everything Icelandic. Two decades later she returns to Gimli and stumbles upon a long-concealed family secret. Freya is irresistibly drawn to travel to Iceland to uncover the truth.

Described on Goodreads as, “A beautifully written novel that deftly weaves together Iceland’s distinctive history, imaginative language, ancient mythology with a passion for genealogy, The Tricking of Freya is a powerful exploration of kinship, loss and redemption.”

The Tricking of Freya may compel us to explore our own Icelandic roots more deeply as we enter this New Year of momentous anniversaries for our Western Icelandic communities. Come together with your local group or join us online on Sunday, January 26, 2025, to share your reflections on the novel. The reading club meets at 1 p.m. Pacific, 2 p.m. Mountain, 3 p.m. Central, 4 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Atlantic … and, of course, 5:30 p.m. in Newfoundland and 21.00 in Iceland.

The Author
Christina Sunley was born in New York City, raised on Long Island, and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended Wesleyan University, earned a BFA in film from New York University, and received her master’s degree in English and creative writing from San Francisco State University. She grew up hearing stories about her Icelandic relatives and their journey to North America. To write The Tricking of Freya, she spent several years researching Icelandic history, mythology, and genealogy, including three trips to Iceland and a stint as writer-in-residence at Klaustrið (The Monastery), a stone farmhouse in a remote area, near where her grandfather had lived.

About INLNA Reads
Icelandic heritage and literature go hand in hand – with some of the highest literacy rates, Iceland also has an impressive publication rate. This love of literature dates back to 13th century sagas, the narrative history of the Vikings and early Icelandic settlement. A program of the Icelandic National League of North America, INLNA Reads works to highlight both historical and contemporary works by Icelandic authors through coordinated nationwide book clubs and online means.