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143 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
The word that Akerholt renders as “restlessness” is uro in Norwegian. The root word, ro, means calm or quiet, while the prefix u-corresponds to un- in English. Literally, the word is un-calmor un-quiet, or perhaps disquiet (indeed, the Norwegian translation of Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet is called Uroens bok, which Fosse has cited as an influence). Although Akerholt’s “restlessness” is twelve letters as opposed to the three in uro, it is likely as close an approximation as is possible. Her avoidance of the Latinate anxiety is probably wise, too, given the Scandinavian context; ever since Kierkegaard, anxiety or angst has had rather loaded philosophical connotations whose presence in Fosse’s text would be dubious at best.