What do you think?
Rate this book
Under en hårdere himmel
Romanen følger en gruppe mennesker fra 30-årene til fengslet i 1945. Den er en sterk kritikk av rettsoppgjøret etter krigen, og vakte stor oppmerksomhet da den ble utgitt første gang i 1957.
233 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
4 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Jens Bjørneboe
63 books184 followersJens Ingvald Bjørneboe was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society and Western civilization on the whole. He led a turbulent life and his uncompromising humanity would cost him both an obscenity conviction as well as long periods of heavy drinking and bouts of depression, which in the end led to his suicide.
Jens Bjørneboe's first published work was Poems (Dikt) in 1951. He is widely considered to be one of Norway's most important post-war authors. Bjørneboe identified himself, among other self-definitions, as an anarcho-nihilist.
During the Norwegian language struggle, Bjørneboe was a notable proponent of the Riksmål language, together with his equally famous cousin André Bjerke.
Jens Bjørneboe was born in 1920, in Kristiansand to Ingvald and Anna Marie Bjørneboe. He grew up in a wealthy family, his father a shipping magnate and a consul for Belgium. The Bjørneboe family originally immigrated from Germany in the 17th century and later adopted their Norwegian name. Coming from a long line of marine officers, Bjørneboe also went to sea as a young man.
Bjørneboe had a troubled childhood with sickness and depressions. He was bedbound for several years following severe pneumonia. At thirteen he attempted suicide by hanging himself. He began drinking when he was twelve, and he would often consume large amounts of wine when his parents were away. It is also rumored that he drank his father's aftershave on several occasions.
In 1943 Bjørneboe fled to Sweden to avoid forced labor under the Nazi occupation. During this exile, he met the German Jewish painter Lisel Funk, who later became his first wife. Lisel Funk introduced him to many aspects of German culture, especially German literature and the arts.
Bjørneboe's early work was poetry, and his first book was Poems (Dikt, 1951), consisting mainly of deeply religious poetry.
Bjørneboe wrote a number of socially critical novels. Among those were Ere the Cock Crows (Før Hanen Galer, 1952), Jonas (1955) and The Evil Shepherd (Den Onde Hyrde, 1960). Ere the Cock Crows is a critique of what Bjørneboe saw as the harsh treatment, after the Second World War, of people suspected of having associated in any way with the Nazis (among them the Norwegian writer and Nobel Prize in Literature winner Knut Hamsun). Jonas deals with injustices and shortcomings of the school system and The Evil Shepherd with the Norwegian prison system.
His most significant work is generally considered to be the trilogy The History of Bestiality, consisting of the novels Moment of Freedom (Frihetens Øyeblikk, 1966), Powderhouse (Kruttårnet, 1969) and The Silence (Stillheten, 1973).
Bjørneboe also wrote a number of plays, among them The Bird Lovers (Fugleelskerne, 1966), Semmelweis (1968) and Amputation (Amputasjon, 1970), a collaboration with Eugenio Barba and the Danish theatre ensemble Odin Teatret.
In 1967, he was convicted for publishing a novel deemed pornographic, Without a Stitch (Uten en tråd, 1966), which was confiscated and banned in Norway. The trial, however, made the book a huge success in foreign editions, and Bjørneboe's financial problems were (for a period) solved.
His last major work was the novel The Sharks (Haiene, 1974).
After having struggled with depression and alcoholism for a long time, he committed suicide by hanging on May 9, 1976.[2]
In his obituary in Aftenposten, Bjørneboe's life and legacy were described as follows:
"For 25 years Jens Bjørneboe was a center of unrest in Norwegian cultural life: Passionately concerned with contemporary problems in nearly all their aspects, controversial and with the courage to be so, with a conscious will to carry things to extremes. He was not to be pigeonholed. "
Jens Bjørneboe's first published work was Poems (Dikt) in 1951. He is widely considered to be one of Norway's most important post-war authors. Bjørneboe identified himself, among other self-definitions, as an anarcho-nihilist.
During the Norwegian language struggle, Bjørneboe was a notable proponent of the Riksmål language, together with his equally famous cousin André Bjerke.
Jens Bjørneboe was born in 1920, in Kristiansand to Ingvald and Anna Marie Bjørneboe. He grew up in a wealthy family, his father a shipping magnate and a consul for Belgium. The Bjørneboe family originally immigrated from Germany in the 17th century and later adopted their Norwegian name. Coming from a long line of marine officers, Bjørneboe also went to sea as a young man.
Bjørneboe had a troubled childhood with sickness and depressions. He was bedbound for several years following severe pneumonia. At thirteen he attempted suicide by hanging himself. He began drinking when he was twelve, and he would often consume large amounts of wine when his parents were away. It is also rumored that he drank his father's aftershave on several occasions.
In 1943 Bjørneboe fled to Sweden to avoid forced labor under the Nazi occupation. During this exile, he met the German Jewish painter Lisel Funk, who later became his first wife. Lisel Funk introduced him to many aspects of German culture, especially German literature and the arts.
Bjørneboe's early work was poetry, and his first book was Poems (Dikt, 1951), consisting mainly of deeply religious poetry.
Bjørneboe wrote a number of socially critical novels. Among those were Ere the Cock Crows (Før Hanen Galer, 1952), Jonas (1955) and The Evil Shepherd (Den Onde Hyrde, 1960). Ere the Cock Crows is a critique of what Bjørneboe saw as the harsh treatment, after the Second World War, of people suspected of having associated in any way with the Nazis (among them the Norwegian writer and Nobel Prize in Literature winner Knut Hamsun). Jonas deals with injustices and shortcomings of the school system and The Evil Shepherd with the Norwegian prison system.
His most significant work is generally considered to be the trilogy The History of Bestiality, consisting of the novels Moment of Freedom (Frihetens Øyeblikk, 1966), Powderhouse (Kruttårnet, 1969) and The Silence (Stillheten, 1973).
Bjørneboe also wrote a number of plays, among them The Bird Lovers (Fugleelskerne, 1966), Semmelweis (1968) and Amputation (Amputasjon, 1970), a collaboration with Eugenio Barba and the Danish theatre ensemble Odin Teatret.
In 1967, he was convicted for publishing a novel deemed pornographic, Without a Stitch (Uten en tråd, 1966), which was confiscated and banned in Norway. The trial, however, made the book a huge success in foreign editions, and Bjørneboe's financial problems were (for a period) solved.
His last major work was the novel The Sharks (Haiene, 1974).
After having struggled with depression and alcoholism for a long time, he committed suicide by hanging on May 9, 1976.[2]
In his obituary in Aftenposten, Bjørneboe's life and legacy were described as follows:
"For 25 years Jens Bjørneboe was a center of unrest in Norwegian cultural life: Passionately concerned with contemporary problems in nearly all their aspects, controversial and with the courage to be so, with a conscious will to carry things to extremes. He was not to be pigeonholed. "
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 20, 2020
Really goes to bring up a point on how inhumane the Norwegian people might have treated Germans and all associated with them after WWII ended. If fascism was not the way to go, how could one describe the treatment that was given to these same opponents? Bjørneboe also captures how the different characters think regarding politics throughout the ongoing war. In all, a good book worth reading.
July 30, 2023
Irritere meg egentlig sykt når eg ende opp me å gi ein bok 3 stjerner for d e så kjedelig…
Denne boken va og irriterende i starten som førte t at eg ikje huska noe av starten egentlig..
MEN ok den va liksom ganske interessant. For eksempel handle den om andre verdenskrig, men jødene blir aldri nevnt…
Handla liksom mer om enkeltmenneske i Oslo og omegn og viste kor svart/hvitt nordmenn såg på hendelser som skjedde under krigen itte krigen. Mye kommunisme og mye nasjonalisme.
Fikk og historien t ein tyskertøse og alle vett at eg e stor fan av di.
Denne boken va og interessent i d faktum at an e skreve på 50-tallet så noen av tankene der va litt forut sin tid (tyskertøse, delvis nazisympatiker men og ikje men bare menneskesympatiker). Altså va historiene og Bjørneboes poeng ganske interessante, men å ikje nevna jødene + ikje banebrytende språk gjør at denne boken får kun tri stjerner
Denne boken va og irriterende i starten som førte t at eg ikje huska noe av starten egentlig..
MEN ok den va liksom ganske interessant. For eksempel handle den om andre verdenskrig, men jødene blir aldri nevnt…
Handla liksom mer om enkeltmenneske i Oslo og omegn og viste kor svart/hvitt nordmenn såg på hendelser som skjedde under krigen itte krigen. Mye kommunisme og mye nasjonalisme.
Fikk og historien t ein tyskertøse og alle vett at eg e stor fan av di.
Denne boken va og interessent i d faktum at an e skreve på 50-tallet så noen av tankene der va litt forut sin tid (tyskertøse, delvis nazisympatiker men og ikje men bare menneskesympatiker). Altså va historiene og Bjørneboes poeng ganske interessante, men å ikje nevna jødene + ikje banebrytende språk gjør at denne boken får kun tri stjerner
February 25, 2024
Burde være pensum faen
October 24, 2025
Tankevekkende. Overraskende god!
November 18, 2015
A moving story of how blind and misunderstood idealism lead to both old and young chosing the wrong side during the ww2. Also a biting critique of how the norwegian state and society treated them after the war.
October 30, 2016
Helt fantastisk
Leste en gang til, må bli film/miniserie..
majorens forvandling skjer på side 88, lol
Leste en gang til, må bli film/miniserie..
majorens forvandling skjer på side 88, lol
April 17, 2024
Minner om at mange av de som støttet nazistene var vanlige mennesker som ikke visste det store omfang av hva det betø. Det var også mange som ble korrumpert eller tiltrukket av ideologien. Ironien er at volden i nazismens navn og nazismens ideologiske mål versus nazismens mange medlemmer blir automatisk forbundet, slik at de som støttet dem ble dømt ikke for hva de gjorde i ettertid, men for hva de tenkte. Hvis en medlem av NS gjorde noe, kunne det oftere bli dømt som ulovlig, men hos en vanlig nordmann ikke. Den dobbelstandarden nazismen behandlet verden med, gjorde Norge mot dem med tilbakevirkende kraft, gjeninnførelse av dødsstraffen og med hardere dommer med "generalpreventive hensyn".
Den urett som skjer med en, rammer oss alle.
Uansett hvilket samfunn man ender opp i, så er det i hvert fall tydelig at man ikke skal stå i opposisjon til den som vinner. Heldigvis ble nazistene knust.
Den urett som skjer med en, rammer oss alle.
Uansett hvilket samfunn man ender opp i, så er det i hvert fall tydelig at man ikke skal stå i opposisjon til den som vinner. Heldigvis ble nazistene knust.
July 7, 2019
Viktig bok, fortsatt i dag: i ettertid vet vi alltid hvem som hadde rett og var gode, fordi de fikk rett (og kanskje dessuten var gode), men når det pågår, er det ikke alltid selvfølgelig hvilken side som er den riktige. Bjørneboe utforsker dette mesterlig på det mest selvfølgelige område man kan tenke seg: nazistene og landssvikoppgjøret.
January 16, 2016
4.5 stjerner. Jeg er imponert over komposisjonen. Boka er svært godt skrevet og veldig fascinerende. Den gjorde absolutt inntrykk. Den består av mye ytre beskrivelser og jeg kunne nok ønsket meg mer nærhet til karakterene noen ganger. Feministen i meg fikk også litt vondt til tider, men det betyr jo ikke at boka ikke er bra.
September 27, 2014
Great book
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews