The Scapegoat

by Johan Borgen

The Scandinavian imagination seems obsessed with the concept of guilt - an obsession Norwegian novelist Borgen (1902-79) appears to fully share. This novel's main character, Matias Roos, is a splintered personality obsessed by frontiers, guilty of an unspecified crime, and in search of a path of atonement. The book begins as an interior monologue but rapidly becomes a bewildering dialogue between ""I"" and ""he"" in which Roos both describes his actions and passes judgement on them; the boundary between Roos' personae is fluid and permeable, but until the dénouement, dialogue between them is intentionally confusing as to voice, plot, and reality...Borgen skillfully fuses modernist techniques and more traditional obsessions in a work refulgent with contemporary angst if not indeed with ancient fire and brimstone."" - Booklist. ""A seminal and fascinating text"" - Choice.

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Norwegian author, journalist and critic. He was married to Annemarta Borgen. Under the pseudonym of Mumle Gåsegg (Mumble Goose-egg) he wrote shorter articles in the newspaper Dagbladet, particularly during World War II. His articles were ironic and derogatory of the Nazi government, and he kept this up for a long time before being found out. In the end though, he was caught and sent to the prison camp Grini. His best known work is the novel Lillelord (1955). Borgen was editor of the literary magazine Vinduet ("The Window") 1954-1959.

Reviews

[M. Sarki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to give up on this. I left my bookmark in place if I ever return, but it just did not sustain my interest. Disappointing.