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Olaf Olafsson Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

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Olaf Olafsson
Photo: Einar Falur Ingolfsson

Olaf Olafsson

Olaf Olafsson Biography

Olaf Olafsson (full name Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson) was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1962.  He studied physics as a Wien Scholar at Brandeis University, Massachusetts, in the early 1980s. He is the author of several novels and a collection of short stories; his work has been translated into at least 14 languages. 

He is also Executive Vice President of Time Warner, responsible for the company's corporate strategy, mergers, acquisitions and investments. Prior to that, he was Vice Chairman of Time Warner Digital Media where he was responsible for developing strategic business plans for Time Warner’s diverse digital media businesses and identifying emerging growth opportunities for the company in the digital realm. 

His career in technology began when, in an effort to persuade Olafsson to stay in the Ph.D. program, a professor enlisted the help of then-head of Sony Corp America.  Instead the executive offered Olafsson a job in Silicon Valley, which he accepted.  Over the next few years he founded and headed Sony's digital entertainment division. 

He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

Bibliography

Absolution (1994) Spanning a boyhood in Iceland to the Nazi occupation of Denmark to modern-day Manhattan, Absolution plumbs the darkest corners of a sinister mind and a wounded heart.

Journey Home
(2000): Disa, a character reminiscent of the butler in Kazua Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, is a successful, attentive restaurateur and proprietress at an English country hotel. When she learns she has but a year to live, the news serves as the catalyst for a final trip home to Iceland -- a journey she has postponed for 20 years.  

Walking Into The Night (2003): The life story of William Randolph Hearst’s fictional butler.

Valentines (2007, stories).



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Books by this Author

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The Sacrament jacket Restoration jacket Valentines jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Olaf Olafsson but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Rick Bass

    Rick Bass

    Rick Bass was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1958. His father was a geologist who passed on his passion to his son.  Bass received a B.S. in petroleum geology at Utah State University in 1979, and then worked as a gas ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Valentines

    Try:
    The Lives of Rocks
    by Rick Bass

  • Amy Bloom

    Amy Bloom

    Author of three New York Times best-sellers and three collections of short stories, a children's book (another coming in 2022) and a ground-breaking collection of essays. Bloom has been a nominee for both the National Book ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Valentines

    Try:
    A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You
    by Amy Bloom

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