Gunnar’s Daughter, by Sigrid Undset
Filed under: book review, historical fiction, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer, recommendation, Sigrid Undset
(Translated by Arthur G. Chater.New : York: Knopf, 1936. New translation by Tiina Nanally.) (Norwegian title: Fortællingen om Viga-Ljot og Vigdis. Christiania (Oslo): Aschehoug, 1909.)
Set in Norway and Iceland at the beginning of the eleventh century, Gunnar’s Daughter is the story of the beautiful, spoiled Vigdis Gunnarsdatter, who is casually raped by the man she had wanted to love.
A woman of courage and intelligence, Vigdis is toughened by adversity. Alone she raises the child conceived in violence, repeatedly defending her autonomy in a world governed by men. Alone she also gradually rebuilds her life and restores her family’s honor, until an unrelenting social code propels her to take the action that again destroys her happiness.
More than a historical romance, Gunnar’s Daughter depicts characters driven by passion and vengefulness, themes as familiar in Undset’s own time – and in ours – as they were in the Saga Age. A strong, unsentimental book by Nobel Prize winner Sigrid Undset. Still very well worth reading!
Don’t Look Back! – Karin Fossum
Filed under: crime book, Inspector Konrad Sejer, Karin Fossum, Norwegian writer, Prize winning novel
In a sleepy little village at the foot of a Norwegian mountain, a child — 6 year old Ragnhild — goes missing. It is a village where the children run in and out of one another’s 
houses and play unafraid in the streets. Yet the search for her reveals the naked body of the well-liked local schoolgirl. Why would anyone want to murder Annie Holland? The investigation of this question is in the hands of Inspector Konrad Sejer and his young colleague Jacob Skarre.
Karin Fossum is one of my favorite Norwegian crime writers. Karin Fossum was born November 6, 1954 in Sandefjord. She now lives in Oslo. Karin Fossum’s Inspector Sejer novels are masterfully constructed, psychologically convincing, and compulsively readable.
This is a wonderful book with great characters, and it is very carefully written. The dialogue is realistic. It is also a book that gives a strong sense of community and that makes you feel and know that, yeah, this is how is could really have happened in a small community in Norway. As well, the police work is interesting and well described. The book is highly recommended to anyone who likes police-procedural novels.
And, so that you know that this really is a high quality book, I should mention that Don’t Look Back! received The Riverton Prize and The Glass Key (for the best Nordic detective novel).
Read an excerpt of the book at the Hardcourt publishers’ site. We have more reviews of Karin Fossum’s books at ScandinavianBooks!
Aftenposten’s reviewer said the book “has hit the bull’s eye. It has scored a direct hit and is an exceptional top score! This is a dazzling writing in the crime genre”.
“Don’t Look Back! shows just how well Fossum deserves her continental fame.” — Sunday Times
You can order books by Karin Fossum
Benoni and Rosa, by Knut Hamsun
Filed under: book review, Nobel Prize Winner, Norwegian writer
Knut Hamsun is one of the most well known Norwegian writers internationally. He is also a Nobel prize winner in literature. His writing style is poetic, playful, ironic and beautiful. You can read more about Knut Hamsun at leserglede.com or at the Danish Knut Hamsun site.
Benoni and Rosa by Knut Hamsun is a double novel, the first is Benoni, and Rosa the second and continuation. The books tell the story of Benoni Hartvigsen, a local mail man, who becomes rich more or less over 
night. The local big-shot, Ferdinand Mack, makes him a partner in his business, and helps him court the daughter of the local priest, the very lovely and attractive Rosa.
Benoni and Rosa are two of the “lighter” stories written by Knut Hamsun. They are concerned with the changes in the character of Benoni, as well as in the people knowing him, that result from the radical change in circumstances that Benoni Hartvigsen experiences. To a large extent the description of this character and how he changes, resembles a book by another Norwegian author, Johan Falkberget, entitled “Bør Børson”. 
In both cases sweet innocent men who suddenly become rich, change into what may best be described as megalomaniacs. Rapid changes in circumstance is a theme that has attracted much attention both in classical and more modern literature, and Hamsun’s take on this theme is among the more interesting ones. The twists and turns in the odd relationship between Benoni and Rosa along with the “rags to riches” motif provide the dynamics of the story.
Thus this is a rich tale of personal change, rivalry in love and business, social and personal change, as well as love, courtship and passion. It is a story about the basic ingridients of life itself, told by a master storyteller and keen observer. Both as a love story and as a study of changing circumstances, Benoni and Rosa are excellent.
Benoni and Rosa tell an entertaining story, with lots of humor and irony. The language is outstanding; clear and concise, and a treat in itself. Benoni and Rosa definitely are among Hamsun’s best!
You can order these books by Knut Hamsun at amazon US: Benoni
Or, if you prefer, you can order Hamsun’s books from amazon UK: Benoni.
Grace, by Linn Ullmann
Filed under: book review, Fiction, Johan Sletten, Linn Ullman, Norwegian writer
The Norwegian author Linn Karin Beate Ullmann (born 1966) is the daughter of Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann and Swedish movie director Ingmar Bergman. She is a graduate of New York University, where she studied English literature and also began work on her Ph.D. She returned to Norway in 1990 to pursue a career in journalism. She is married to Niels Fredrik Dahl, an award-winning Norwegian poet, novelist and playwright
Her third novel Grace was published in 2002 and won the prominent literary award “The reader’s prize” in Norway, and was named one of the ten best novels of that year by the prestigious newspaper “Weekendavisen” in Denmark.
In 2007, Grace was long listed for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in the UK.
Grace tells the story of Johan Sletten, a man whose life has not been the 
greatest success story: an unhappy first marriage, an estranged son, and an undistinguished career as a journalist. An ordinary life, like most lives. However, his second wife, Mai, has graced his life with love.
When told that he is terminally ill, with possibly only a few months left to him, Johan makes Mai promise to help him die “when the time comes”. But is this the true measure of love – to give the gift of death? And who decides when the time is right? Johan himself or his wife Mai? Death may come as a release, but to whom?
Linn Ullmann’s novel Grace portrays a passionate love affair and asks difficult questions about life, love and death. With cool precision, deep insight, and dark wit, it illustrates how the most ordinary of lifes can, in the end, be touched by grace.
Praise for Linn Ullmann’s Grace:
“Linn Ullmann masterfully manages to fill even the spaces between the lines. With only a small number of flashbacks and events making the text a convincing story, she succeeds in creating an incredibly dense and intense atmosphere. Tension builds, leaving the reader almost breathless, even though nothing really happens. Yet something does take place. The reader feels the spark.You are drawn in by the tension between the two spouses: their anxiety, their insecurity and their hopes. The stirring and dramatic ending of Linn Ullmann’s empathetic novel Grace is surprising.”
NDR (Germany)
See also author page on Linn Ullmann at leserglede.com.
Order books by Linn Ullmann from amazon US: Grace: A Novel
Order from amazon UK: Grace
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