ABSTRACT
Halldor Kiljan Laxness made use of Magnus Hj. Magnusson’s diary as a basis for his classic novel World Light. Laxness was well-known for seeking subject-matter for his work in true events of his time, both by reading sources and through interviews and field trips. The microhistorian takes something unusual as their subject, whether a person or an event, with the same in mind as the novelist, i.e. that such subjects are more likely to throw light on a larger phenomenon, in the context in which it is most meaningful, in people’s personal lives. In reading egodocuments, such as diaries, the reader clearly perceives the rhythm of the daily life of the diarist, and in fact also of those around them. Magnus’ story is full of paradoxes: he is a hapless husband, father and citizen, who makes a remarkable attempt to set the record straight through keeping a diary.
