The Atom Station is a novel by Icelandic author Halldór Laxness, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955. “The Atom Station”, written in 1946 and 1947, was published in 1948. The historical background of the novel is composed of the British Occupation of Iceland during World War 2 in 1940, which was later taken over by the Americans in 1941. Many viewed Iceland’s independence as threatened due to the United States’ request to establish a military base in Keflavík for 99 years . However, the Icelandic Parliament eventually agreed to the request... and concluded the Keflavík Contract. Laxness was critical of the fact that Icelandic jurisdiction was not applicable to the area within the military base. But above all, he saw a threat to Icelandic life, because, in the event of an atomic war, Iceland would become a potential target due to the military base. These fears are based on the impression left by the two atomic bombs which had been recently dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Laxness began writing the novel shortly after these events.
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