In the Wake

Arvid Jansen #3

by Per Petterson, Ann Born (Translator)

When Arvid Jansen comes-to one morning in the doorway of a bookstore in Oslo, Norway, his grief comes back to him in devastating flashes: His parents and his brothers are dead, he has lost touch with his wife and daughters, abandoned his career as a writer and bookseller. His old life is gone.

In the Wake is the story of Arvid's first steps toward resuming that life, of his gradual confrontation with everything he lost and ultimately with his own role in the disaster that killed his family.

Told with the insight and moral force of his countryman Knut Hamsun, In the Wake is the American debut of a treasured European writer.

Genres: Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Novels, Literary Fiction, Literature, Contemporary, Ebooks

230 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Petterson knew from the age of 18 that he wanted to be a writer, but didn't embark on this career for many years - his debut book, the short story collection Aske i munnen, sand i skoa, (Ashes in the Mouth, Sand in the Shoes) was published 17 years later, when Petterson was 35. Previously he had worked for years in a factory as an unskilled labourer, as his parents had done before him, and had also trained as a librarian, and worked as a bookseller.
In 1990, the year following the publication of his first novel, Pettersen's family was struck by tragedy - his mother, father, brother and nephew were killed in a fire onboard a ferry.
His third novel Til Sibir (To Siberia) was nominated for The Nordic Council's Literature Prize, and his fourth novel I kjølvannet (In the Wake), which is a young man's story of losing his family in the Scandinavian Star ferry disaster in 1990, won the Brage Prize for 2000.
His breakthrough, however, was Ut og stjæle hester (Out Stealing Horses) which was awarded two top literary prizes in Norway - the The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature and the Booksellers’ Best Book of the Year Award.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/perpet...

Reviews

[Dolors · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a feeling of lethargy that slowly percolates under your skin as you surf the troubled waters of Arvid’s grief and guilt. A man of forty-three who has spent the last six years of his life trying to get over the tragic events that took away his parents and younger siblings. His older brother, who shares his disgust for the precariousness of life, is the only family he’s got left. Everybody else is gone.

Arvid has forgotten the face of the mother of his two daughters, whom he can’t look in the eye. He has stopped writing in favor of the painless numbness of gin and whisky. He is haunted by memories of his strained relationship with his father, whom he admired and feared and never really talked to. He craves for solitude but can’t stand the loneliness that is conquering every corner of his being, turning him cold like the icy lake of the Norwegian town where he merely vegetates. He’s hit bottom and has taken the turning point towards utter obliteration when one night, out of the blue, his neighbor from Iraq, a quiet man who can only say “hello”, “thanks” and “problem” in Norwegian, knocks on his door, waking him up from his torpid slumber.

Petterson’s ability to paint the downward spiral of mid-life crisis sounds too real to be fiction. Arvid’s quiet angst and corroding guilt sprout from some other place than the wellspring of inspiration and creativity. Life experience, torn apart by the kind of silence that chokes us when we most need to speak, pulsates underneath Arvid’s story. Books, written and read, remain the anchor to sanity in a world that stopped making sense. Author and character merge and fuse and the reader becomes an awed spectator to real life unfolding with natural ease, like the gradual melting of a frozen landscape under the soft radiating of springtime sunshine.

Once more, Petterson’s unpretentious voice, which is more quiet than silent, builds a bridge between total despair and renewed hope. An understanding glance without words, an open door when there is only darkness outside, a brotherly embrace or a dream that reveals more than overplayed and distorted memories, are sometimes enough to come back from the dead, to start living again, to wake up and bask in the odor of newly brewed roasted coffee.
Petterson’s prose pays homage to those imperceptible signs that allow us to keep on walking, no matter how many times we stumble upon adversity and fall. He keeps walking, and so should we.

[Argos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norveçli yazar Per Peterson’un “At Çalmaya Gidiyoruz” dışındaki diğer kitapları birbirine çok benziyor, hatta farklı kurguyla yazılmış benzer kitaplar gibi. Bu kitabında da 6 yıl önce kaybettiği babasının boşluğunu ancak farkeden, yaşamında sadece ağabeyi kalan bir “kayıp adamın”, başarılı olmamış bir yazarın öyküsü anlatılıyor. Daha önce okuduğum kitaplarındaki Arvid Jansen karakterinin, bir “looser”ın öyküsü. Roman içinde en sevdiği on kitap arasında Y. Kemal’in “İnce Memed”in olduğunu okumak hoş bir sürpriz oldu. Klasik bir Per Peterson kitabı.

[Wyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per Petterson is fast becoming a go-to author for contemplative, atmospheric literary fiction. This was not quite as impressive for me as his novel Out Stealing Horses but still, 43-year-old Arvid Jansen stole my heart much like Trond in OSH. Also like OSH, the seasons and scenery in Norway and Denmark are living, breathing characters in themselves.

Arvid is living alone in an Oslo apartment trying to cobble together some sort of life for himself following a tragic accident six years prior that killed his parents and two younger brothers. His wife has divorced him and taken custody of his daughters, and he no longer works as a bookseller at the local bookshop. His half written novel languishes under a layer of dust on his desk, and he interacts with virtually no one except occasionally his older brother (who suffers his own “survivor” issues) and sometimes his foreign-speaking upstairs neighbor. The novel opens with a “rock bottom” blackout moment for Arvid and winds along for 200 pages on a non-linear journey through Arvid’s dreams and memories, mostly of his father and mostly about their tangled relationship.

This may all sound terribly depressing and yes - there are scenes so human and personal they physically hurt to read - but hope and truth and possibility are woven throughout the book. There are even moments of wry humor and tender affection. It was interesting to note which of the key characters in this book have names and which Petterson elected to remain nameless. I have some thoughts on his tactic but can’t discuss them here without spoilers. An extra perk for me in this novel was Arvid’s reflections on the books and authors that have been meaningful to him throughout his life including Memed, My Hawk, Alice Munro, Rick Bass. I really wasn't quite ready for this book to end but the ending was perfectly timed. There was nowhere else for it to go. Or was there? Maybe I’ll meet Arvid again some day.

“. . . I think perhaps THAT is the difference between my brother and me, that in spite of size and age he always looked back while I look straight ahead, and this is the way it always has been.” ~ Arvid Jansen

[Banu Yıldıran Genç · Rating 4 out of 5]

ben polisiyelerin sıra gözetmeden yayımlanmasına atıp tutuyorum biliyorsunuz. maalesef per petterson’cığımda da böyle olmuş. şimdi bu konuda benim metis’e söyleyecek lafım yok, sonuçta adamın en popüler olmuş romanıyla başlıyorlar yayımlamaya, tr’de bu denli sevileceğini öngörmek imkansız. ve sonra yavaş yavaş tüm eserlerine doğru gidiyor yayınevi.
ama biz okurların da bir suçu yok. sonuçta bir trajediyle baş etmeye çalışan arvid jansen var gözümüzün önünde. ve biz ona dair kaç kitap okuduk bile.
şimdi, ben bizim durumumuzdaki erkekler’de arvid’ciğimi ve geldiği iyi durumu sevmiş ve hatta onun erkekliğine övgü olarak yazı yazmış biri olarak hooop gerisin geri bu trajediyi anlatan ilk romana, 2000’de yazılmış ardından’a dönünce ayarlarım bozuluyor. çünkü ardından arvid’e dair okuduğum en depresif roman. bir ağıt, bir ayağa kalkma çabası…
işte bu yüzden yazarların yazdığı sırayla okumayı çok seviyorum. per petterson’ın arvid’i yazarak başladığı iyileşme süreci o kadar belli ki romanlarında. benim durumumdaki erkekler ve ardından’ı okuyan herkes bu farkı görür, acının yoğunluğunun değişimi o kadar belli ki.
yani uzun sözün kısası ardından’ı önce okumak isterdim, aynen sırası gibi. çünkü böyle sona kalmış bir halde okuyunca ve arvid’in en baştaki haline geri dönünce sıkıcı ve boğucu oldu benim açımdan.
ama yine de per petterson’ın yamaçlarında dolaştığı o konular, benim çok sevdiğim konular. baba-oğul meselesi. kardeşlik. hiç bitmeyen rekabet. hayatta başarısızlık. yazarlık. yazarlığın bommmmboşluğu. yalnızlık.
ve burada bir anektod olarak anlattığı danimarkalı öbür kadın meselesi çok güzeldi. küçücük bir ayrıntıdan yola çıkılan…
per’ciğim hep yazsın çünkü yazarak nasıl iyileştiğini biz kel alaka okurlar bile anlayabiliyoruz.
çeviri, edisyon, kapak yine harika. ama ben banu hanımın çevirmesine daha alışkınım galiba per petterson’da.

[Кремена Михайлова · Rating 4 out of 5]

Награбих ги бързо – две книги на Петершон, които не бях чела. Иначе ми е трудно да се навеждам до долния ред в библиотеката, но този път на секцията за скандинавска литература си казах – Я да огледам внимателно всичко. И си струваше.

Може да се каже, че точно тази книга на Петершон не ме трясна толкова силно, колкото други две негови. Но аз толкова силно и лесно го усещам вече, че дори една привидно обикновена книга ми дава доста. Получава се натрупване – от няколко негови книги вече знам темите му, стила му, гласа му; околностите („Отново лягам по гръб в пирена.“).

А защо да е привидно обикновена тази – защото отново (и дори този път по-монотонно) се разказва за същите неща: семейство, и особено вечните за Пер отношения баща-син (този път не пиещ/биещ баща, но и строг/студен не е маловажно); връщане към детството; изплуващи проблеми; почти винаги разводи. Ами така е – не сме ли чели безкрайно много за това – човешки нестабилности. Но специално с Петершон винаги чувствам нещо по-дълбоко.

Чувствам болката на мъжете – най-често те са центърът. И усещам това чрез атмосферата (няма кой знае какъв специфичен стил; просто мек, но и понякога ироничен глас; просто разказване). Понякога повече диалози, понякога по-малко (тук по-малко); понякога повече описания, понякога по-малко (тук дори битови подробности от типа Уилям Уортън); понякога повече гора/река/море, друг път град; малко комунизъм (разбира се развенчан) и винаги, винаги – заковаващо финално изречение. Което показва по недосаден начин, че наистина и на фона на сериозни семейни неприятности пак можеш да намираш изходи и устои – и като си млад, и като по-зрял. Каквото и да изглежда положението, може би все пак всичко е етапи; а Арвид обикаля и твърди, че умее да гледа „напред“.

Не съм използвала май израза „на един дъх“ първо защото е изтъркан, и второ – почти не съм правила така: на един дъх цяла книга. Вярно, че тази е само 173 страници и не е кой знае какво да се прочете наведнъж. Но въпреки че няма нещо кой знае колко „грабващо“ в този роман, исках без прекъсване да видя всичко до края. От онези случаи, в които на самия финал удовлетворението нараства рязко. Така че категорично – силно мой човек е Петершон; една книга ми остана още.

Друг път преписвам много, но сега дъхът наистина беше един и нямаше време за такива работи.

„И когато се опитвам да мисля за нещо, не мисля за нищо.“

Никакви досадни изводи и уроци, просто вярвам, че това е спонтанно от героя. Някои мъже вече са познати от други романи на Петершон – започвам да правя връзки: кой в друг роман беше юноша, а сега е мъж. Кой баща прилича на друг. Когато има един син, който разказва за бащата, започвам да се питам – а каква ли е историята и гледната точка на другия син. Дано има още писане и превеждане.

P.S.
„Мисля, че може би това е различието между брат ми и мен: че въпреки разликата в големината и възрастта, той гледа назад, докато аз гледам право напред и че винаги е било така. И до днес.“

[M. Sarki · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://msarki.tumblr.com/post/8654619...

I find nothing pretentious or false in a Per Petterson novel. At least in the first two I have read thus far. To handle grief in the most tragic sense of it and bring it off in a believable tale of circuitous events all a part of the greater whole is truly remarkable. There is no development in this novel that is not understood and certainly applicable to a person with the character of Arvid Jansen. From the awful lonely and severe grimacing of the opening pages, and the movement on to dealing with the always at once vivid and then forever mounting daily tragedies of both past and present events, this remaining family of two middle-aged and recently divorced brothers seem to have been glued fast to their challenging fate. Of course, emotional and physical escape routes are spontaneously planned, and a severe action taken by one brother to finally end all this pain of guilt-laden suffering.

Although I personally have not had to deal with grief or guilt in the way Per Petterson presents the awful circumstances his character Arvid, not to mention himself, have been subjected to, I still felt something of gargantuan measure, which is what most days I really want. To feel so much on a given day is to live large, and though the pain at times seems unbearable, the essence of it is something to be cherished. And of course, as have others, I too have had my own share of grief and bad things happen to me, but nothing really, nothing compared to what this story relates in its heartfelt and aching fiction. Confusing and painful poison darts come at these two men from every direction off the board and the piercing stings add layer upon layer to this many-storied predicament. If revealed within this framework of mine the many details presented by this novel I would spoil the number of gems gifted to us along the roads Per Petterson takes us amidst Arvid’s own home remedies for self-healing. But the book sadly never made me cry, but it did indeed make me ache and have empathy rarely materialized in my own flesh. In truth I live probably too much in my fiction, whether it be my own or somebody else’s. But I prefer my life to be this way. Much as I also admit to my preference of dogs over human beings when it comes to meaningful relationships. Per Petterson certainly has a gift for writing penetratingly good prose. And I understand he was for years a pretty serious reader himself. I look forward to the next novel of his that finds me ready for his gift.

[Hakan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norveçli yazar Per Petterson’dan yine güçlü ve de depresif bir roman. Birkaç kitaba yaydığı Arvid Jansen’in hikayesi bu sefer babasının kaybından sonraki dönemi, babasıyla ilgili hatıralarını ve kalan aile üyeleriyle ilişkilerini ağırlıkla ele alıyor. İskandinavya’nın soğukluğunu, sadece iklim olarak değil, iliklerinize işletiyor. Kitabın bizler için hoş bir yönü de sonlara doğru bir bölümde Jansen’in İnce Memed’e değinmesi (Jansen varoluş mücadelesi veren bir yazar zaten), hatta en sevdiği on roman arasına sokması.

Metis Yayınları sağolsun güzel güzel basmış Petterson’un kitaplarını ama basarken kronolojik sıra takip etmemiş. Neyse sırayı izlemeden okumak da pek rahatsız etmiyor. Çeviri (Nesrin Demiryontan) iyi ama zamir kullanımında - özellikle “o” zamirinde - daha sakınımlı olunabilirdi diye düşündürüyor okurken.

[Burak Uzun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yine Arvid Jansen'le beraberiz. Benim Durumumdaki Erkekler romanının devamı değil de daha öncesi bir hikâye. Arada en sevdiği roman olarak İnce Memed'i anıyor birkaç defa. İlk önce, Türkçe'de çok okundum, biraz onlardan bir şeyler katayım diye düşünen romancılar gibi mi yaptı Petterson dedim ama sonra, bu romanını 2000 yılında yazdığını gördüm.

Hasılı severiz, Petterson'u da, İskandinav edebiyatını da.

[Dilan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ardından, eski bir tanıdık Arvid Jansen ile tekrar karşılaşmamızı sağlayan bir Per Petterson kitabı. Bu sefer Arvid’in farklı bir dönemine bakıyoruz. Başarısız bir yazarlık kariyeri, ailenin bir parçasını koparan bir gemi kazası, sonlanmış bir evlilik, babasının soluklaşan anıları, aynaya baktığında gördüğü bir yüz, her kitapta farklı rollerine ışık tutulan Arvid Jansen! Sadece ağabeyi kalmış olan bir adamın savrulan parçalarını bulmaya çalışıyoruz bu üç kitapta. Fakat Ardından’ı diğer kitaplarından ayıran şey yoğun bir karanlık içerisinde olması ve durgunluğunun aksine Arvid’in düşüncelerinin daha dağınık ve depresif olması. Ayrıca karakterin yapayalnız kalışı ve hisleri daha yoğun bir şekilde yansıtılmış. Bu belki gemi kazasına yakınlığından kaynaklanıyor olabilir. Her kitapta bu kazayı merak ediyordum, sonunda öğrenme anını okuyabildim.
•
Aslında Per Petterson’a At Çalmaya Gidiyoruz ile başlamıştım. Sonrasında Benim Durumumdaki Erkekler, Lanet Olsun Zaman Nehrine ve Ardından’ı okudum. Öncelikle At Çalmaya Gidiyoruz’un benim için ayrı olduğunu belirtmem gerekiyor. Fakat en benimsediğim karakterlerde Arvid Jansen başı çekiyor. Ayrıca dağınık bir zihnin içinde ucu açık ve belirsiz bir şekilde sonlanan Petterson kitaplarını (yani hepsini) okumayı seviyorum. Normalde başka birinden okusam bu olayı sevemezdim belki ama Per Petterson yavaş bir ritimde okuru dövüyor gibi. Bunun dışında Arvid’in depresif yolculuklarında dışarıdan bir göz olarak mekanlara baktığımda huzur buluyorum. Bu durum bana tuhaf geliyor, çünkü karakter acı çekiyor aslında. Fakat Petterson’un arka planlarını okumaya ve okuru da arabanın içine koyup gezdirmesine bayılıyorum. Bunu yaparken karakterin düşüncelerini saçarak okuru yormasına da. Bu yüzden eğer durgun bir anlatımın içinde Arvid Jansen’in çöküşünü merak ederseniz Ardından iyi bir seçim olabilir.

[Hulyacln · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bazı kitaplar bir diğer kitabı özletir. Bazıları ise diğer kitapların yarattığı boşluğu sarar.
Sözsüz bir anlaşma olduğunu düşünürsünüz aralarında. Siz de bu anlaşmanın sessizliğine uyup; kabul edersiniz varlıklarını.
‘Ardından’ da öyle, ‘Lanet Olsun Zaman Nehrine’ ve ‘Benim Durumumdaki Erkekler’ ile birbirlerini ağırlıyorlar.
Arvid Jansen’ı kayıplarından, düşüşlerinden tanıyoruz artık.
İçine doğduğu aileyi de biliyoruz, oluşturduğu aileyi de.
.
Ardından’da Arvid Jansen artık 43 yaşında. Evliliğinin yürümemesi, işteki sıkıntılardan sonra farklı bir şey olacak mı- Jansen değişecek mi diye bir beklentim oldu.
Ancak bu beklentimden çok daha fazlasını buldum, karakterin geçmişinin aydınlanması gibi.
.
Per Petterson okumak beni öyle sakinleştiriyor ki. Sıradan hayatların güzelliği onun dilindeki. Dingin bir anlatıma karşın yumru gibi boğaza takılan hayatlar.
Eğer yazar ile tanışmadıysanız ‘Lanet Olsun Zaman Nehrine’ iyi bir başlangıç olacaktır😊
.
Nesrin Demiryontan çevirisiyle. Kapakta yer alan detay ise Edvard Munch’un Kış Gecesi adlı çalışmasından~
.
Dipnot: Yazarın bu eserde İnce Memed’ten en sevdiği kitaplardan biri olarak bahsetmesi de gözlerimin ışıldamasını sağlamış olabilir😊

[Kalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Бавната скандинавска литература, където тишината е оглушителна, самотата е споделена, а студът топли.

"Гледам нагоре между дърветата към небето, което е съвсем ясно и пълно със звезди и бавно се върти; целият свят се върти бавно и е едно голямо празно пространство. Тишината е навсякъде и между мен и звездите няма нищо."

"Снимката, която си направили, стои в едно чекмедже при мен. На нея са само двамата, но аз долавям присъствието и на останалите. Те се притискат към ръба на снимката и искат да се вмъкнат, а на баща ми това му харесва - виждам го по начина, по който се усмихва."

"... и въпреки това най-много мразя, когато някой познат дойде и седне до мен с широка усмивка на уста и иска да си говорим."

[Steven Godin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rememeber reading Petterson's Out Stealing Horses a few years ago and thinking just how easy it was for me to get really involved in the novel; really held inside its story; really taken in by its characters, atmosphere and landscape. This was a sure sign of a really gifted writer, I thought. Its a shame then that I have to say that In The Wake did none of the above. I found it OK at best, and when it came to the loneliness and grief of Arvid I always felt on the outskirts of his crisis rather than its core. I'll likely read Petterson again, as I'd be amazed if the rest of his work is as dull as this one was.

[Aylin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okuduğum 3. Per Petterson kitabı. Petterson’ un herhangi bir şaşaa içermeyen, gündelik, sıradan durumları belirten cümleleri gülümsememi sağlıyor ve bendeki samimiyet duygusunu körüklüyor.

Kendisi ile “o anlatsın, ben dinleyeyim” durumuna geldik🫶🏻

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can a book give a reader whiplash? I have no idea where this book was going. It careened between dreams and memories, and strange behaviors following on black-outs and angst with such speed that I was completely disoriented through the entire ride. I LOVED Out Stealing Horses. Glad I did not read this one first or I would never have picked up this author again.

[Димитар Димоски · Rating 5 out of 5]

Еден од најдобрите скандинавски автори. Меланхолично, суптилно и недоречено.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first decided to buy this novel it was because I believed it dealt with loss. It does but if loss is the disease then what are its symptoms? One is guilt, in the case of the narrator of this novel, survivor guilt. Arvid and his brother are the only surviving members of their family. Six years on both of their lives are falling to pieces. In fact, they've both about hit rock bottom and then his brother attempts suicide. How would this affect a man who acts as if he's lost everything already? In much the same way as he reacts when a female neighbour offers him some sympathetic sex.

Arvid functions. He drives his tired-out Mazda around Oslo remembering, remembering specifically his father with whom he had a difficult relationship. He eats, buys the chocolate he has always enjoyed, "kidnaps" his daughter and takes her for doughnuts and finally gets round to visiting his brother in hospital. It sounds sad. It's not. It's meaningless. Nothing he is doing means anything, not the chocolate, the sex he ends up having with a sympathetic neighbour or the fact he might actually lose his last living relative.

It is an austere book. Amazingly it also manages to be a funny book in parts. The conversation with his Kurdish neighbour who only knows three words of Norwegian is actually quite funny, but in a rather pathetic way. I suspect it's a metaphor for Arvid's own communication issues.

I did find the climax where the two brothers come head to head very effective and a good way to address, if not exactly resolve, the pressure that builds up in the book. Well written and – I'm told – well translated but I wouldn't know about that. I'd read another book by him.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first thought upon closing this book is that it was both sad and sweet, though I suppose the 'sweetness' is really humor, certainly nothing saccharine. And the sadness isn't really in the words either, but in what the reader takes from the words. Understated, subtle book.

Don't read this book if you need a plot or even something to happen (not something I need at all) and I ended up liking the book despite some passages that seemed pointless -- I realized these passages are important to the theme -- and they're beautifully written, so I was never bored with them.

My favorite parts are when the narrator (we're inside his head the whole time) has some engagement (however tentative) with the very few people he does encounter as he walks and drives aimlessly (though not really) around. And I wasn't sure at all how Petterson would end the book (always a plus) but it felt perfect to me.

Quote: "I remember a lot of dreams. Sometimes they are hard to distinguish from what has really happened. That is not so terrible. It is the same with books."

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subject is grief, that of Petterson's alter ego, the character about whom he nearly always writes, Arvid Jansen. Arvid, now 40, is untethered by grief and guilt. It's been six years since the ferryboat fire that killed his parents and younger brothers, among the 159 people who died, and the Jansen family is now reduced to Arvid and his older brother, who has not been able to much move beyond the tragedy either. Surely drawn from his own life and experiences because Petterson's parents and younger brothers were killed in that fireboat fire, his ability to immerse the reader in Arvid's dislocated state of loss and isolation is exceptional, this isn't straightforward conventional storytelling, but rather evocative, entwining Arvid's dreams and memories, his family's life, with his current reality, using the first-person, it is deep, often poetic, and it opens for the reader the mind and heart of a grievously suffering man. Stunning.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Per Petterson's novel, In the Wake, enjoyable to read because he has a nice sense of detail, pacing, and direct interactions between his characters, but overall, I found the book a bit sketchy.

Arvid, the protagonist, is a middle-aged, commercially unsuccessful novelist who is dealing with two wrenching issues: his father problem and his brother problem. The father was a strong fellow who did not appreciate having appeared in Arvid's first novel.(I say "was" because he and most of the family subsequently died in a ferry fire somewhere between Norway and Denmark.)The father's dislike of Arvid's career choice was built on a much longer period of tension arising between him and Arvid, perhaps buried in the father's dislike of himself and, ultimately, lack of interest in Arvid's mother. The brother, now going through a midlife crisis, including a suicide attempt and a divorce, is Arvid's one surviving relative. Once upon a time they shared two siblings' intimate hostility and rivalry. At this point, however, the brothers are both fairly beaten down, and Arvid is pushed out of his brother's life...temporarily, as we see.

The plot, if you will, consists of Arvid wandering around Oslo, seeking clues from various settings important in his past (including the neighborhood where his former wife and children still live) and experiencing flashbacks largely focused on his father. In the process, he lucks into one promising affair. Said affair is not given any space in the narrative in which to flourish and grow, but in some ways it is more encouraging that Arvid's reconciliation with his brother by means of a physical fight, reminiscent of their past. Said fight and reconciliation is the narrative's ultimate destination--boom, boom, boom, it's over, end of book....

Arvid is an appealing character because he's in trouble, knows he deserves it, and has just spent two years writing a manuscript he decides (rightly) to discard. It's easy to sympathize with him as Petterson expertly takes us into his difficulties and his wanderings. We see he is in a real fix, we see he is not a bad guy, and we see that he is sufficiently intelligent, and well-meaning, to warrant better things in life. But again, duking it out with his brother and then sharing a laugh and a drink, doesn't take us anywhere in particular. There's nothing in the two of them reconciling that is likely to augur well for them, just a certain spirit and manifestation of persistent life force.

In his novel Out Stealing Horses, Petterson manages to paint his humble if interesting story, full of feeling and texture and specifics, on a canvas of much broader existential implications. More is at risk, more is discovered, than in In the Wake.

[Işıl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Petterson’un monotonluğu anlatışında bile zarafet var. Arvid Jansen 43 yaşında, boşanmış, anne babasını ve iki kardeşini bir gemi kazasında kaybetmiş ve bunların sonucu olarak hayatının pusulası bozulmuş bir karakter. Yayımlanmış fakat adı duyulmamış bir yazar. Yazdığı romanından bahsederken Petterson’un kendi romanı “At Çalmaya Gidiyoruz”dan satırlar paylaştığını görüyoruz. Yani otobiyografik elementler ve yazarın romanda bahsi geçen gemi kazası gibi bir trajediyi yaşamış olması gibi benzerlikler mevcut.

Gecikmiş bir yas süreci, anıların bilinirliğine sığınmak, yetişkin yalnızlığın duygusal monotonluğuyla savaşmak gibi durumları işleyişi, otobiyografik paralelliğin yoğunluğu nedeniyle Auster'ın"Yalnızlığın Keşfi" ve “Yanılsamalar Kitabı” romanlarını hatırlatıyor.

Arvid Jansen’in izini sürmeye devam.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Wake reads like a dream diary in which emotions, ideas, and relationships emerge and submerge, never fully formed, but living, in their way, distinct and ever-present, haunting those who keep them close. This is a novel in which Arvid Jansen comes to narrative consciousness with his face pressed against the window of a book store, as if waking from a coma. It is, in fact, his brother who we find in a coma, while learning the rest of Jansen's family, appearing through flashbacks or via the artifacts that prove their existence, has died horribly by fire-at-sea — an event that mirrors the author's own life.

This is a tragic novel, but not a morbid one. The central issue seems to be not loss alone but the loneliness that travels with it, and Arvid surprises the reader in those relationships to which, like debris, he is able to pick up and create a connection. Those are the relationships that that stay in the reader’s mind at the novel's close - their awkwardness, unspoken intentions, and stunted growth create for the narrator not a surrogate but perhaps a new family that can carry loss toward a more landed identity in which hope can, if not exactly thrive, breathe, and flail, and mourn.

[Büşra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oncesinde benim durumumdaki erkekleri okusam cok daha iyi olurmus aslında. Cunku Ardindan'da Arvidin 43 yaşındaki halini okuyoruz. Per Pettersonla daha once at çalmaya gidiyoruz romani ile tanismis ve cok sevmiştim. Bu kitapta da yine diliyle, sicakligiyla, dinginligiyle sarmalandım diyebilirim. Aslında cogu insana bunlar da dert mi dedirtebilecek dertler yaşıyor belki Per Pettersonun kahramanlari. Ya da şöyle diyeyim, o kadar cok üstüne düşünerek, yavaş, irdeleyerek ve sakin bir sekilde yaşıyorlar ki tum duygularını, onlarla beraber adim adim hislerinin en dibine yolculuk yapıyoruz okurken. Siradan insanların, sıradan dertlerini, dramatize etmeden ve gözümüze sokmadan bambaşka sekilde anlatıyor Per Petterson.

Yas ve kayıp surecini romanda ilmek ilmek işlemiş. Ve bu yüzden cok gerçekçi. Kendi yolunu arayan, ayaga kalkmaya calisan bir adamin yoldaşı oluyoruz kitap boyunca. Ailesiyle, kayıplarıyla, hayatla ama en cok da kendiyle kavgasını ve sonunda da yuzlesmesini izliyoruz.

Edebiyatin gucunu bana ayrıca tekrar gösteren bir roman oldu Ardindan. Ben Bostonda bir gece yarisi kitabi okurken, kitapta Arvidin Cukurovayi ve Ince Memedi anlatması, son sayfalarda bununla karsilasmam beni gülümsetti.

Kuzey edebiyatını seven okusun, pişman olmaz.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed this - a writer has many odd disconnected episodes, including strange sexual encounters with his neighbour in the flat opposite his, and banging on the doors of the shut bookshop he used to work in, while he is covered in blood and with two broken ribs. We find out towards the end what has caused this dislocation, but in the meantime enjoy beautifully written passages where he sees his brother and daughter, visits hospitals and cafes, 'talks' to refugees in his block of flats and reminisces and trashes his writing. Very literary and incidental pleasures are his 'reviews' and references to many writers including two of my favourites, Alice Munro and Ray Carver.

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Wake is the third of Per Petterson's novels that I have read, yet it is the first of his novels translated into English. I previously read Out Stealing Horses and I Curse the River of Time. Each of these books has increased my esteem for this award-winning Norwegian author.

In the Wake tells the story of Arvid, a writer in his early forties. It is a Proustian tale in the sense that the bulk of the story is built on Arvid's memories of events that have shaped his life. The actual timespan of the novel is relatively short. In it Arvid's loneliness is intense, his grief has settled in to the point where his sanity is not guaranteed. He has lost his father, mother and two younger brothers in a ferry accident. (Petterson lost his parents and a brother in a ferry accident, too, but prefers to leave this out of his publicity material.)

Arvid's life as a writer has slowed to a standstill and yet he keeps moving, driving his beaten-up Mazda through wintry Norwegian landscapes and we keep him company, waiting for a thaw. The novel is startling, especially its opening. It takes a while to adjust to it, like a plunge into icy water, after which the body temperature must revert to normal. It is in prose passages like this describing a moment with his brother that the book comes alive: "We got out of the van, not slamming the doors but pushing them shut, because of the silence around us, not a sound but the sea sighing as it always does behind the trees but the shore when I realize that is what I can hear and stop thinking it is silence itself." His brother is sometimes a mirror for Arvid as is the memories of his father. The action of the book is muted but Arvid's willingness to keep moving and his interaction with real living people provides hope for the reader that he will survive his grief and loneliness.
It seems appropriate that many of the scenes in the book occur in doorways or on actual thresholds, for it seems that this is where Arvid is in a psychological sense. One night, locked out, he stands outside his neighbor's house - and wakes her up. Thus begins a chapter about admission in many senses - Arvid tells his neighbor things about his dead father he has never told anyone. And it is clear that it is the confession that leads him to her bed.

Arvid is a reader as he explains, "On Sundays I sit at home reading whether it's sunny or raining or snowing." And like Per Petterson himself, Arvid used to work in a bookshop and refers to favorite books, as if reading might accomplish what life could not. He describes one author's work like this: "Full of landscape and air and you can smell the pine needles and the heather a long way off." Petterson's own novel is like this, too. It is prose you can almost inhale - the atmosphere is clear and overwhelming.

Hemingway is one persistent influence on Petterson, and so is Knut Hamsun—the protagonists of two early Hamsun novels, “Mysteries” and “Pan,” could be models for Petterson’s unmoored people, especially in the way that Hamsun, like Petterson, at once reveals and obscures rational motivation. Trying to separate fact from fiction with his memories flowing through his mind Arvid shares this thought: "It must have been a dream, of course, because I do not remember what that house looked like from outside or what he saw from the windows or why we were actually there. I remember a lot of dreams. Sometimes they are hard to distinguish from what has really happened. That is not so terrible. It is the same with books."

In the end Arvid's story and he himself are memorable because of his ability to become someone like the reader of his book. He rereads books, and he makes lists of favorite books. They help him deal with the the pain of the world and find a way to go on living and writing. In the end he shares a real life Hemingway moment with his brother. The reality of living in the present overcomes all the memories of the painful past.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to say much about this book without giving away what there is to discover by reading it. It's like a description by Arvid, the main character, in his own words, of the circuitous path he is taking in trying to reconcile his grief and survivor's guilt about the accidental deaths of his parents and two brothers. He is by turns aimless, anxious, restless, and disoriented, looking for something---absolution, maybe? Hope? He combines old memories with descriptions of what's happening in the present.

Really an unconventional book, but I do like Petterson's writing. Although there is despair, there's also humor and warmth and human contact. Arvid is reaching out to others, not just giving up and giving in, so we can hope he's on his way to healing.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally shy away from books about grief and grieving, but like Petterson's writing enough to give this one a shot. It is not a light read, but neither is it depressing. The writing and the observation of humanity are once again amazing. There are some wonderful meditations on the power of narrative to connect, and to teach. He also revisits one of his common themes: that we do not understand our parents (especially our fathers) until years after they are gone, and are then left to wonder if our more complete understanding would have made a significant difference in our relationship while he was still alive. Here, Petterson concludes that, yes, it would have.

[Doug Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark and disturbing book - an amazing glimpse into pure grief and despair, all the more difficult knowing that Petterson lived this grief. That said, as I came towards the end of the book, I found myself slowing down so it wouldn't end. Once again, I find Petterson's writing some of the best that I've come across in quite some time.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quietly powerful story of a man slowly coming to grips with tragedy, the dissolution of his marriage and the disappointments of his past. This book hasn't gotten the acclaim enjoyed by the author's Out Stealing Horses, but I expect that the sad but somehow hopeful story of Arvid Jansen's life will stay with me much longer than that acclaimed novel has.

[Susan Beecher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written almost stream of consciousness novel about a man living with the grief of losing his parents and two brothers in a ferry accident in Norway. Per Petterson is a very fine writer.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exquisitely written, bleak in texture, and hauntingly realistic