: It won the 2012 Icelandic Literary Prize for fiction and the Transfuge Award for best Scandinavian fiction in France.
Digital editions of the novel are available through several major retailers and platforms: Illska La Maldad Eirikur Orn Norddahl mobi
: A sophisticated neo-Nazi PhD student whom Agnes becomes "archaeologically" attracted to while researching her thesis. : It won the 2012 Icelandic Literary Prize
: A second-generation Jewish-Lithuanian immigrant and historian researching far-right populism for her MA thesis. : Critics have called it a "pure masterpiece"
: Critics have called it a "pure masterpiece" and a "beautiful and expansive novel" that masterfully handles difficult political and historical topics.
: The novel argues that evil is not a "monotonous being" but exists in various formats—actions, language, and thoughts—across all ages.
: Norðdahl seeks to integrate Iceland into broader world history, challenging the national self-image of "innocence" by highlighting the country's history of racism and nationalism.