Even though Jon Fosse has had an illustrious career spanning decades, I only learned about him when he was awarded last year’s Nobel Prize. I still have only read two of his works, and those were translated into English, so I’m eager to hear what others think about his writing.
I started with Der et Ales (Aliss at the Fire) so I could sample his work before diving into the Septology. His writing is so interesting, sort of stream-of-consciousness, sort of internal monologue, and at times it floats between characters. In Der et Ales, there are no periods (full stops) in the first 40 pages (about halfway through the novella), just commas and prepositions and conjunctions, to separate the phrases, which somehow still didn’t sound like run ons. It was crazy making at first, then fanciful, then charming, and finally, engrossing.
By the end of the story, I had confidence to start the first volume of his Septology—there are 7 long chapters, called books, bound in 3 volumes. I just finished the first. It’s like nothing I’ve read before—not like Faulkner or Woolf, the only other stream of consciousness I’ve read. It’s circular and repetitive but not in a bad way, I found it dream like and soothing. The characters blend into each other and keep you guessing as the story takes big, swooping circles out and back before moving gradually forward. I absolutely love it and am excited for the next two volumes.
I’d love to hear what others think of his work, recommendations for other stories or plays of his, or other Norwegian authors that I’m missing in my English-language bubble.
by cferrari22