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مرشد السفن و زوجته
Lodsen og hans Hustru , The Pilot and his Wife
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1874
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Jonas Lie
187 books21 followersJonas Lauritz Idemil Lie was a Norwegian novelist who is considered one of "the four great ones" of the 19th century Norwegian literature. The others are Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, and Alexander Kielland. Jonas Lie stands out for his impressionistic style, picking out only significant details of setting, atmosphere, mood, and speech. In his first novels Lie mingled realistic with fantastic elements. Lie's studies of family life, such as The Family at Gilje (1883), and stories of the life of the fishermen and the stormy Arctic Ocean, represent his finest work.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 21, 2018
I know there are a zillion or so authors that I have never heard of in my nearly 60 years of reading. But I am still surprised when I stumble across a new-to-me writer and discover his or her reputation. How could I have missed learning about Jonas Lie, especially as addicted as I have always been to the older books on the library shelves? Wiki says he is considered to be "one of the Four Greats of 19th Century Norwegian literature". I discovered him at Project Gutenberg when one of his titles came up in the Latest Releases section. There were only 5 of his books available so I decided to add him to a personal challenge of mine where I read all of the PG titles by various authors that appeal to me.
The Pilot And His Wife was my first choice from the list. For this type of personal challenge I try to read in order of publication, but if I figured everything correctly from the Wiki article, I will be reading Lie in order of translation into English. This book was translated in 1877.
At first I thought it might be a Heidi-ish tale, because in the first chapter we meet grumpy Old Jacob, who lives on a small island off the coast of Norway, alone except for his granddaughter, who has been with Jacob and his wife since the child's parents died. By the second chapter, Jacob's wife has died, his health is failing, and Elizabeth is fourteen years old.
This is when Salve enters the picture. He is the eighteen year old son of a man from the mainland who checks on Old Jacob every so often. At first he ignores Elizabeth, since she is only a child to his eyes, but over the next few years they become friends and eventually Salve realizes that he is in love.
The story then follows the trail of romance, and it is a rocky one. Does Salve ever actually tell Elizabeth how he feels? Does he just assume that she understands the curious remarks he makes? He goes off on a long voyage, planning to ask her to marry him when he returns. But what happens in Elizabeth's life while he is gone? Will she think of him at all? Will she let herself be distracted by young Beck, who is the son of Captain Beck who commands the ship Salve is on? What will happen due to the lack of communication between the two star-crossed young people?!
The major focus of the story was on Salve, and even in the later chapters Elizabeth seemed to be almost an afterthought for the author. I was especially annoyed at her last comment, the final line of the entire book.
"And it was I, Salvé, who was the chief cause of it all," she replied.
No dear, you were not the chief cause of it all! You two simply neglected to communicate. If he had told you this, and if you had told him that, not only in the beginning but in the later chapters too, you would not have merely survived your life, you would have lived it. But it takes to tango, it takes two to mess up a relationship, and it takes two to build new bridges.
The Wiki article about Lie says that:
"In his works, Jonas Lie often sought to reflect in his writings the nature, folk life, and social spirit of the nation of Norway. His writing often dealt with family life in diverse settings, including portraying the social and intellectual restrictions on women of the educated classes. Lie was a versatile writer, liberal and modern, but also strongly tradition bound."
My upset with Elizabeth's portrayal kept me from giving this four stars, which probably is not entirely fair of me. There were some thrilling moments in this story, and the sailing scenes are outstanding. It was well worth reading and I'm already looking forward to the next title on the list.
The Pilot And His Wife was my first choice from the list. For this type of personal challenge I try to read in order of publication, but if I figured everything correctly from the Wiki article, I will be reading Lie in order of translation into English. This book was translated in 1877.
At first I thought it might be a Heidi-ish tale, because in the first chapter we meet grumpy Old Jacob, who lives on a small island off the coast of Norway, alone except for his granddaughter, who has been with Jacob and his wife since the child's parents died. By the second chapter, Jacob's wife has died, his health is failing, and Elizabeth is fourteen years old.
This is when Salve enters the picture. He is the eighteen year old son of a man from the mainland who checks on Old Jacob every so often. At first he ignores Elizabeth, since she is only a child to his eyes, but over the next few years they become friends and eventually Salve realizes that he is in love.
The story then follows the trail of romance, and it is a rocky one. Does Salve ever actually tell Elizabeth how he feels? Does he just assume that she understands the curious remarks he makes? He goes off on a long voyage, planning to ask her to marry him when he returns. But what happens in Elizabeth's life while he is gone? Will she think of him at all? Will she let herself be distracted by young Beck, who is the son of Captain Beck who commands the ship Salve is on? What will happen due to the lack of communication between the two star-crossed young people?!
The major focus of the story was on Salve, and even in the later chapters Elizabeth seemed to be almost an afterthought for the author. I was especially annoyed at her last comment, the final line of the entire book.
"And it was I, Salvé, who was the chief cause of it all," she replied.
No dear, you were not the chief cause of it all! You two simply neglected to communicate. If he had told you this, and if you had told him that, not only in the beginning but in the later chapters too, you would not have merely survived your life, you would have lived it. But it takes to tango, it takes two to mess up a relationship, and it takes two to build new bridges.
The Wiki article about Lie says that:
"In his works, Jonas Lie often sought to reflect in his writings the nature, folk life, and social spirit of the nation of Norway. His writing often dealt with family life in diverse settings, including portraying the social and intellectual restrictions on women of the educated classes. Lie was a versatile writer, liberal and modern, but also strongly tradition bound."
My upset with Elizabeth's portrayal kept me from giving this four stars, which probably is not entirely fair of me. There were some thrilling moments in this story, and the sailing scenes are outstanding. It was well worth reading and I'm already looking forward to the next title on the list.
August 13, 2016
En flott bok om kjærlighet, sjalusi, tillit, relasjoner, og kommunikasjon. Viktigheten av sistnevnte er essensiell og moralen er at god kommunikasjon kan spare oss for mye møye.
April 11, 2009
This was a little depressing to read, but one that I could not put down. This was one of Oprah's Book Club books that was a keeper.
September 8, 2013
Didn't read this book .. clicked the wrong one by accident
Read
September 22, 2013I was trying to type in The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve. I guess this book got in by mistake. I don't plan to read this book at all.
November 1, 2025
Fine beskrivelser av sjømannslivet i seilskutetiden. Det er fremmed å lese om sosiale forhold som er så annerledes enn vi nå er vant til. Den forbitrede stoltheten til losen er også fremmed, som også i Oscar Braatens bøker. Men det var vel slik, og derfor er det godt å bli minnet på hvor mye bedre vi har det nå, på mange vis. Det var godt med en forsonlig slutt
February 26, 2025
Lie må lær sæ ka læs mellom linjan betyr...
Likt slutten (men Elisabeth fortjene bedre)
Bra karakterskildringa (men Elisabeth fortjene bedre)
Cirka så my rasisme som æ forventa egt...
VELDIG jonas lie
Likt slutten (men Elisabeth fortjene bedre)
Bra karakterskildringa (men Elisabeth fortjene bedre)
Cirka så my rasisme som æ forventa egt...
VELDIG jonas lie
June 9, 2022
Interessant og godt tema, men så...langdryg...
Read
December 15, 2024Boring
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews