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Fjorten dager før frostnettene
Fjorten dager før frostnettene innledes med at legen Knut Holmen feirer sin førtiårsdag alene på en restaurant. Han har gjort en strålende karriere, og er gift i et solid, om enn tilstivnet ekteskap. Holmen virker tilsynelatende tilfreds, men så begynner tankene hans å spinne. Han konkluderer med at til tross for sin ytre suksess, så er hans liv uten varme. Og på ett punkt i livet har noe gått galt. Fundamentalt galt. Lag for lag graver han seg nedover i sitt eget sinn, ruller opp scener fra sitt fortidige liv i håp om å finne svar. På den tiden Sigurd Hoel skrev romanen, begynte han å bli influert av psykoanalytiske teorier. Han gikk selv i terapi hos Wilhelm Reich, og viste stor interesse for den type selvgranskning som Knut Holmen bedriver. Romanens hovedtema kan for øvrig oppsummeres i følgende sitat fra boken: «Glemt angst for glemte forgåelser ligger som skygger over vårt liv.» Det dreier seg om autoritetsfrykt og livsangst med røtter i et barndomshjem uten ømhet og fortrolighet.
- GenresFiction
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Sigurd Hoel
42 books14 followersSigurd Hoel was a Norwegian author and publishing consultant.
His literary career began with the short story «Idioten» («the Idiot») from 1918, when he won a writing contest. The same year he became an employee of «Socialdemokraten» («The Social Democrat», a newspaper) as a literature and theater critic.
In 1924 he traveled to Berlin to study socialism, and there he wrote his first novel, «Syvstjernen» (The Seven Star), before moving to Paris for a short time.
During the war Hoel and his wife went back to Odalen. He participated in the Resistance, and wrote articles for the Resistance press. In 1943 he was forced to flee to Sweden.
Hoel had a short connection to the landsmål movement, but later played an active part in the riksmål campaign. He was among the founders of the Author's Association of 1952 and was the chairman of the Riksmålsforbundet from 1956 to 1959.
As the main consultant for Norwegian and translated literature for Gyldendal publishing, Hoel made an impression on a whole generation of Norwegian literature. From 1929-1959 Hoel was the editor of the publisher's «Gold Series», where he introduced a number of foreign authors, often with an astounding foresight for which works would remain. The series comprised 101 books—among others, works from authors such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Franz Kafka. Hoel wrote prefaces for all of the books.
His literary career began with the short story «Idioten» («the Idiot») from 1918, when he won a writing contest. The same year he became an employee of «Socialdemokraten» («The Social Democrat», a newspaper) as a literature and theater critic.
In 1924 he traveled to Berlin to study socialism, and there he wrote his first novel, «Syvstjernen» (The Seven Star), before moving to Paris for a short time.
During the war Hoel and his wife went back to Odalen. He participated in the Resistance, and wrote articles for the Resistance press. In 1943 he was forced to flee to Sweden.
Hoel had a short connection to the landsmål movement, but later played an active part in the riksmål campaign. He was among the founders of the Author's Association of 1952 and was the chairman of the Riksmålsforbundet from 1956 to 1959.
As the main consultant for Norwegian and translated literature for Gyldendal publishing, Hoel made an impression on a whole generation of Norwegian literature. From 1929-1959 Hoel was the editor of the publisher's «Gold Series», where he introduced a number of foreign authors, often with an astounding foresight for which works would remain. The series comprised 101 books—among others, works from authors such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Franz Kafka. Hoel wrote prefaces for all of the books.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 24, 2021
Very interesting at the beginning, it went downhill.
February 16, 2022
Kul bok om en mann og hans midtlivskrise i Oslo!!! Ga meg assosiasjoner til Genanse og verdighet og kanskje litt Naiv super??men også aspekter ved Nina Lykke sine bøker!!
Oxo veldig kult at det spekuleres så mye om atombomber i boken når den e skrevet allerede i 1935???
Oxo veldig kult at det spekuleres så mye om atombomber i boken når den e skrevet allerede i 1935???
November 23, 2024
Koste meg veldig med denne, utrolig godt og tidløst skrevet med mange gode referanser og skildringer!
December 22, 2015
Set in Oslo in the mid-1930s, this introspective novel follows a doctor going through a midlife crisis just after his 40th birthday. Hoel's prose evokes V.S. Naipaul's autobiographical fiction and extended passages of Theodore Dreiser. Hoel would likely be much more widely read were he not Norwegian. The issuing of this book joined with Lyngstad's excellent translation highlights an exceptional talent. Recommended for older readers who are familiar with or want to learn more about Scandinavian literature.
October 22, 2014
Let me say two different things up front. 1) I’m not a huge fan of this type of novel (the novel is described by the publisher as a “deep-probing psychological quest”) and – absent a stellar reputation – I tend to pass on books that appear to only do this one thing. But; 2) I greatly enjoyed this book, due in large overwhelming part to the consummate skill of author Sigurd Hoel.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Man turns forty, begins to yearn for the past, gets hung up on a prior lover, has an affair, and explores his sexual repression through the lens of his conservative upbringing. It is, in fact, so overdone that it is pure middle-age-white-author stereotype at this point. That said, I’m not sure that it would in fact have been quite so stereotypical in 1935 when it was written.
One of the things that stood out to me was my inability to nail down, through my reading, when this book was either set or written. In fact, having read one of Hoel’s post-WWII novels, I spent most of the novel assuming it was written and set much later than it was. It reads and feels in great part like a modern (and I do mean could-be-written-now-modern) European novel. That could be in large part due to translator decisions – I’m never sure about these things – but I try to never assume translator-interference without some sort of proof, so, instead, I’m left with the fact that Hoel appears to have been writing fairly well ahead of his time in terms of structure and tone.
Oddly enough – in the face of the European-vibe this novel gives off – I would say that the closest comparison I can come up with for Hoel is Haruki Murakami-sans-Magical-Realism. The wanderings in this novel reminded me a great deal – and I find the mental streets I imagined in my readings are the same – of both Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. The “sans-Magical-Realism” thing is important here: this book is great merely on the strength of the author and his words, and not on the fairly (now) common plot.
This was another book that, once started, I found I needed to finish: and, in fact, I stayed up late last night just to do so. Sigurd Hoel is utterly unknown outside his native country – thankfully some of this has at least been translated in the face of utter indifference – but I have to agree with the words of Norwegian poet André Bjerke: ”If he had written in English, he would have had a world reputation.”
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Man turns forty, begins to yearn for the past, gets hung up on a prior lover, has an affair, and explores his sexual repression through the lens of his conservative upbringing. It is, in fact, so overdone that it is pure middle-age-white-author stereotype at this point. That said, I’m not sure that it would in fact have been quite so stereotypical in 1935 when it was written.
One of the things that stood out to me was my inability to nail down, through my reading, when this book was either set or written. In fact, having read one of Hoel’s post-WWII novels, I spent most of the novel assuming it was written and set much later than it was. It reads and feels in great part like a modern (and I do mean could-be-written-now-modern) European novel. That could be in large part due to translator decisions – I’m never sure about these things – but I try to never assume translator-interference without some sort of proof, so, instead, I’m left with the fact that Hoel appears to have been writing fairly well ahead of his time in terms of structure and tone.
Oddly enough – in the face of the European-vibe this novel gives off – I would say that the closest comparison I can come up with for Hoel is Haruki Murakami-sans-Magical-Realism. The wanderings in this novel reminded me a great deal – and I find the mental streets I imagined in my readings are the same – of both Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. The “sans-Magical-Realism” thing is important here: this book is great merely on the strength of the author and his words, and not on the fairly (now) common plot.
This was another book that, once started, I found I needed to finish: and, in fact, I stayed up late last night just to do so. Sigurd Hoel is utterly unknown outside his native country – thankfully some of this has at least been translated in the face of utter indifference – but I have to agree with the words of Norwegian poet André Bjerke: ”If he had written in English, he would have had a world reputation.”
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews