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Uten en tråd #1
Uten en tråd
Uten en tråd ble første gang utgitt høsten 1966. Den ble beslaglagt av politiet etter noen
få dager. I juni 1967 ble forfatter og forlegger dømt etter straffelovens bestemmelse om utgivelse av «utuktige skrifter», og boken ble inndratt.
Med alle sine overdrivelser og påfunn er Uten en tråd en klar underholdningsroman. Men Bjørneboe ville ikke vært forfatteren om boken ikke også hadde et klart etisk perspektiv: Seksualiteten er uskyldig så lenge moralbudene om redelighet, mot, alminnelig menneskelighet og hensynsfullhet følges.
Bjørneboes essay «Istedenfor en forsvarstale» er trykt som etterord.
få dager. I juni 1967 ble forfatter og forlegger dømt etter straffelovens bestemmelse om utgivelse av «utuktige skrifter», og boken ble inndratt.
Med alle sine overdrivelser og påfunn er Uten en tråd en klar underholdningsroman. Men Bjørneboe ville ikke vært forfatteren om boken ikke også hadde et klart etisk perspektiv: Seksualiteten er uskyldig så lenge moralbudene om redelighet, mot, alminnelig menneskelighet og hensynsfullhet følges.
Bjørneboes essay «Istedenfor en forsvarstale» er trykt som etterord.
153 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
13 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
Jens Bjørneboe
63 books187 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. "
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
April 21, 2013
"People speak of 'sexual morality' but that is a misleading expression. There is no special morality for sex. No matter what you do with yourself, whether you go to bed with girls or with boys, and no matter what it occurs to you to do with them or with yourself, no moral rule applies to that sphere of activity other than the principles that govern every aspect of life: honesty, courage, common humanity, consideration. As in all else, what counts in sex life is that it is wrong to harm others. This is the only sexual morality that exists: you shall not use your sex to gain power or influence over others; you shall not injure them, and you shall not cause them unnecessary pain....
I'll repeat what I said a minute ago - most people ruin their own and other people's sex lives by thinking only of themselves. One thinks only of one's own desire, one's own joy, one's own orgasm. When you get to the point where you can think more about the other person's orgasm than about your own, then you're grown up - and the remarkable thing is that only then can you yourself really get full pleasure out of the whole thing."
When a book is written as a political act, what is left once the fire of that act has gone out? The urgency of sexual politics in the 1960s, and the power texts like these had to shock and unsettle the status quo is clear, but those days are long over. This is not to say of course, that there are many many people in the world whose lives would be better if they accepted their arguments. But the point remains, why read such a book now?
Well, for the humor, for the pleasure, and as an act of allegiance with a writer who wrote for us all, though it cost him his happiness, his sanity and finally his life. Jens is an author criminally neglected in the English speaking world, and much that has previously been translated is long out of print (including this book). That is a terrible shame. If you ever come across this, or feel like finding it online, I would not hesitate to encourage you. It is sexy, funny and the 50 year old embers from that huge political fire still have the power to warm.
It is not, by any means, a masterpiece. I am not a huge reader of erotic fiction (though Fanny Hill is awesome), and after a while the endless sex does get a little tiresome. Nevertheless, Jens is inventive enough to keep things varied (without resorting to anything hardcore). The language remains quaintly innocent throughout (the protagonist always refers to her "flower" or similar euphemisms) and there is little in the descriptions of sex that will shock (though there is an enema and the interesting use of a thermometer). Regardless of all this, I am glad I found it online, and glad I read it. The final 40 pages or so are extraordinary - the novel becomes a horrific, surreal journey through the nightmare of Hamburg, filled with the hypocrisy of the "moral majority" - prostitution, braying mobs screaming at fat, mud-wrestling women, abuse and violence. Coming as it does after the joy and erotic innocence of the prior pages, its retains its power to shock.
Jens is a writer I have fallen deeply in love with, and am looking forward to working my way through anything else of his I can find.
I'll repeat what I said a minute ago - most people ruin their own and other people's sex lives by thinking only of themselves. One thinks only of one's own desire, one's own joy, one's own orgasm. When you get to the point where you can think more about the other person's orgasm than about your own, then you're grown up - and the remarkable thing is that only then can you yourself really get full pleasure out of the whole thing."
When a book is written as a political act, what is left once the fire of that act has gone out? The urgency of sexual politics in the 1960s, and the power texts like these had to shock and unsettle the status quo is clear, but those days are long over. This is not to say of course, that there are many many people in the world whose lives would be better if they accepted their arguments. But the point remains, why read such a book now?
Well, for the humor, for the pleasure, and as an act of allegiance with a writer who wrote for us all, though it cost him his happiness, his sanity and finally his life. Jens is an author criminally neglected in the English speaking world, and much that has previously been translated is long out of print (including this book). That is a terrible shame. If you ever come across this, or feel like finding it online, I would not hesitate to encourage you. It is sexy, funny and the 50 year old embers from that huge political fire still have the power to warm.
It is not, by any means, a masterpiece. I am not a huge reader of erotic fiction (though Fanny Hill is awesome), and after a while the endless sex does get a little tiresome. Nevertheless, Jens is inventive enough to keep things varied (without resorting to anything hardcore). The language remains quaintly innocent throughout (the protagonist always refers to her "flower" or similar euphemisms) and there is little in the descriptions of sex that will shock (though there is an enema and the interesting use of a thermometer). Regardless of all this, I am glad I found it online, and glad I read it. The final 40 pages or so are extraordinary - the novel becomes a horrific, surreal journey through the nightmare of Hamburg, filled with the hypocrisy of the "moral majority" - prostitution, braying mobs screaming at fat, mud-wrestling women, abuse and violence. Coming as it does after the joy and erotic innocence of the prior pages, its retains its power to shock.
Jens is a writer I have fallen deeply in love with, and am looking forward to working my way through anything else of his I can find.
October 4, 2015
No! – sorry – this didn't work. I'm missing the usual skill of Jens Bjørneboe, whom I love as a writer. I suppose he didn't put much effort into his writing in this case. He called the book a pornographic social satire. I'd say it's 90% porn and 10% satire. The sexual encounters of Lillian, eighteen-year-old woman from Norway and the narrator of this story, got on my nerves pretty quickly.
I guess the book has done its duty 50 years after its first publication. Back then (1966) such a book was probably exciting and necessary; its banning comprehensible from the viewpoint of certain conservative circles in Norway, albeit a failure. After it got banned in Norway, the book received a lot of attention, and by selling it abroad Bjørneboe finally got some money that let him work on his other projects without too much pressure.
I whole-heartily recommend this author, but not this book.
PS: I added the German hardcover to Goodreads. If you look at the cover you may notice that there is a jacket flap that covers only about 2/3 of the actual book from the bottom. I'm curious to find out if this review will get flagged when I post the cover of the book without the jacket. Let's find out:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
i-want-money
April 16, 20131) It's Norwegian.
2) Friend Jonathan added it, fjrst among Friends.
3) There exists ONE goodreads review, and it's one of those mild one-star doozies:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
4) Jonathan's smelly photo of his copy:
http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/5...
5) There's a movie made:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063732/?...
6) Jens has received certification as BURIED.
7) Complete Review:
http://www.complete-review.com/review...
8) And because the Norwegian Supreme Court banned it, in response to which Bjørneboe wrote Without a Stitch 2, the sum of which is explicated on the dustjacket photographically reproduced by Jonathan here: http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/5...
2) Friend Jonathan added it, fjrst among Friends.
3) There exists ONE goodreads review, and it's one of those mild one-star doozies:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
4) Jonathan's smelly photo of his copy:
http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/5...
5) There's a movie made:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063732/?...
6) Jens has received certification as BURIED.
7) Complete Review:
http://www.complete-review.com/review...
8) And because the Norwegian Supreme Court banned it, in response to which Bjørneboe wrote Without a Stitch 2, the sum of which is explicated on the dustjacket photographically reproduced by Jonathan here: http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/5...
September 29, 2017
I'd love to give this little slice of pie to the right person—by which I mean the entirely wrong person, of course. I'm assuming there are thousands of people who read this straight, entirely unaware that Bjørnboe was cleverly saying 'fuck you' to his Homeland of Lies (the official motto of Norway). After having been harassed and persecuted by a society famous for its self-congratulating, none-more-progressive social views (and, later, Black Metal!!!), Jens decided that, if he had hitherto upset the apple cart, he was going to blow both the orchard and the cart factory to hell for good measure in Without a Stitch.
How to accomplish this? Make your heroine a slinky, large-breasted, teenage nymph that engages in more fucking than several colonies of rabbits on ecstasy. Hey, any book that opens with a gal being digitally manipulated with one finger in the front door and another ('the curious finger') in the back is, like Jesus, just alright with me.
But wait, there's so much more! That is literally the first page. Far from merely titillating his readers, Bjørnboe methodically proceeds to demolish pretty much every taboo any sacred cow ever shat out. Now it was last week when I read this, and there's been a few books between, but off the top of my head...Brief roll-call:
Teenage lesbianism (because, of course)
Girls playing with anal thermometers (in a non-medicinal capacity)
Girl-on-girl shower scenes! (soapy, soapy)
Said girls having fun with enemas and cunnilingus simultaneously (note to self: try this)
More hot cock action than the Castro ever saw in its heyday (you should've been there)
Sex with complete stranger (well that's just polite, her being in a new country and all)
Filming a porno (partly in the position most favored by dogs)
Homosexual sex between two young men, one well underage (I wasn't checking ID's)
An orgasm doctor with a bulbous cock (white coat proves it!)
&c
Honestly, that's maybe a quarter of the fun. For those not absolutely ignorant of subtext, it's all a wonderful little morality play; freedom and liberation through sexual agency and the attainment thereof. Of course the whole thing is a transparent commentary (the transition from being fucked to doing the fucking), and a damning condemnation of Nordic hypocrisy. All of which could have been as much fun as eating a shoe, but the author offers up such a goddamn fun romp that, like any of the many characters, you just wanna collapse in a big sweaty lump upon completion. Cigarette, darling?
Damnedest thing: although one is entirely aware that Bjørneboe is carefully crafting a metaphor that escalates into the brilliancy of the truly Absurd, I defy anyone to read this and not get a tingle or two down there. Down where? Down there, down there.
OR
Because you know you want to read a book where the protagonist has a champagne cork placed in her vagina by the loving fingers of the doctor she just fucked, so as to remind her of the constant throb-ache of his missing cock during the 23-hours until they can, like Steely Dan, do it again.
How to accomplish this? Make your heroine a slinky, large-breasted, teenage nymph that engages in more fucking than several colonies of rabbits on ecstasy. Hey, any book that opens with a gal being digitally manipulated with one finger in the front door and another ('the curious finger') in the back is, like Jesus, just alright with me.
But wait, there's so much more! That is literally the first page. Far from merely titillating his readers, Bjørnboe methodically proceeds to demolish pretty much every taboo any sacred cow ever shat out. Now it was last week when I read this, and there's been a few books between, but off the top of my head...Brief roll-call:
Teenage lesbianism (because, of course)
Girls playing with anal thermometers (in a non-medicinal capacity)
Girl-on-girl shower scenes! (soapy, soapy)
Said girls having fun with enemas and cunnilingus simultaneously (note to self: try this)
More hot cock action than the Castro ever saw in its heyday (you should've been there)
Sex with complete stranger (well that's just polite, her being in a new country and all)
Filming a porno (partly in the position most favored by dogs)
Homosexual sex between two young men, one well underage (I wasn't checking ID's)
An orgasm doctor with a bulbous cock (white coat proves it!)
&c
Honestly, that's maybe a quarter of the fun. For those not absolutely ignorant of subtext, it's all a wonderful little morality play; freedom and liberation through sexual agency and the attainment thereof. Of course the whole thing is a transparent commentary (the transition from being fucked to doing the fucking), and a damning condemnation of Nordic hypocrisy. All of which could have been as much fun as eating a shoe, but the author offers up such a goddamn fun romp that, like any of the many characters, you just wanna collapse in a big sweaty lump upon completion. Cigarette, darling?
Damnedest thing: although one is entirely aware that Bjørneboe is carefully crafting a metaphor that escalates into the brilliancy of the truly Absurd, I defy anyone to read this and not get a tingle or two down there. Down where? Down there, down there.
OR
Because you know you want to read a book where the protagonist has a champagne cork placed in her vagina by the loving fingers of the doctor she just fucked, so as to remind her of the constant throb-ache of his missing cock during the 23-hours until they can, like Steely Dan, do it again.
November 10, 2025
Herlig skamlaus, men leste den ferdig mest for å kunne krysse av ei rute på bokbingo, sidan historia i grunn var sånn passe. Sorglaus bok med meget inngående beskrivelser!
Litt urolig for hygienen i boka (tross en del fokus på såpevann og skum), men la gå - det er jo fiksjon så det var vel ikkje eit poeng. Berre hugs at ein ikkje bør putte penis direkte i andre kroppsåpninger etter analsex, vask den først i såfall, mvh din lokale helsesjukepleier.
Okei, kos deg med den! Haaade
Litt urolig for hygienen i boka (tross en del fokus på såpevann og skum), men la gå - det er jo fiksjon så det var vel ikkje eit poeng. Berre hugs at ein ikkje bør putte penis direkte i andre kroppsåpninger etter analsex, vask den først i såfall, mvh din lokale helsesjukepleier.
Okei, kos deg med den! Haaade
May 13, 2014
Without a Stitch is not a frivolous book though the focus is primarily on the main character’s sexual awakening and her adventures that followed. The novel also makes its point to center on sexual prejudices by use of many examples of perversion (not all sexual) and a bit of good old derring-do. With his own eyes German culture with its bigotry and racism is also visited and shown more so near the end of the book. Though written originally as a commercial endeavor to enable Jens Bjørneboe to get on with his master work The Moment Of Freedom Trilogy: " Moment Of Freedom " , " Powderhouse " And " The Silence ", the attention the courts gave to this pornography, by outlawing and banning it, gave an even greater opportunity for Jens Bjørneboe’s voice of protest to be heard even more loudly. Though not my normal fare, this book did offer moments of interest beyond the sexual nature of the book. And it was obvious Jens Bjørneboe was present not only on the page but in the room.
March 18, 2023
Ei ung norsk jente som lider av utfordringer med å få full seksuell nytelse oppsøker en mystisk doktor ved navn Peterson. Etter fullført behandling, både fysisk og mentalt (som ble betalt på velferdsstatens penger vel å merke) legger hun ut på en reise gjennom Europa. Kåtere intereuropeisk sexturisme skal en lete lenge etter. Innholdet i denne reisen kan kun realiseres hvis man har et libido på likt nivå med en tenåringsgutt som nylig har oppdaget onani. Ikke overraskende har Bjørneboes kjære hovedperson nettopp det. Romanens premiss er latterlig enkelt, og funker godt til å oppfylle hva romanen kan kokes ned til; porno.
Med sine drøye hundre-og-femti sider er boka til tider morsom i sine skildringer av sex, en gang i blant når den fram i sin samfunnskritikk. Dessverre er det sjeldent, aller mest er boka klissete, som krevde at jeg tok pauser underveis. Romanen oppfyller kunsten å skildre samleie mellom to (eller flere!) mennesker på ulike måter godt innledningsvis, men mot slutten av boka følte jeg at jeg leste det samme kapittelet for n-te gang.
Som et enkeltstående verk er det vanskelig å gripe fast i selve motivet med romanen fra Bjørneboes side. Derfor bør romanen leses med essayet Uten en forsvarstale. Essayet sto trykt som etterord i utgaven jeg leste, og var til stor hjelp med å kontekstualisere selve romanen. Det er nemlig først her forfatteren tydeliggjør sitt etiske og seksualmoralske perspektiv; "Seksualiteten er uskyldig så lenge moralbudene om redelighet, mot, alminnelig menneskelighet og hensynsfullhet følges."
For å forstå "Uten en tråd" krever det at man har kjennskap til den kultur- og seksialpolitiske ståa i Norge på 60-tallet. Det krever en forståelse for nettopp hvor rådende kristenkonservativt, patriarkalsk og reaksjonært tankegods var på denne tiden. Med dette i bakhue har jeg egentlig ikke vondt for å forstå hvorfor denne boka ble gjort ulovlig i Norge, og hvorfor Bjørneboe, anarkisten Bjørneboe, på sitt unike vis, valgte å opponere mot slikt tankegods i denne romanen.
For eksempel i sine skildringer av homofilt (og lesbisk) samleie er det ikke vanskelig å se for seg at det vakte både oppsikt og raseri blant deler av den lesende norske befolkninga på den tiden - men i dag er homofili for lengst legalisert og allment akseptert! Kanskje vi kan, og bør takke Bjørneboe, den tidlige 60-tallsradikalismen, sjølve SF-raddisenes favorittforfatter for å komme med et tydelig progressivt slag for en frigjort seksualmoral- og utfoldelse… - som nå på mange måter er realisert?
Alt i alt - dette var en sær bok av en utvilsomt sær forfatter. De fleste kjenner til og har hørt om "Uten en tråd" gjennom norskfagets skolepensum eller rett og slett interesse for litteratur. Få har derimot faktisk lest den. Det er stas å tilhøre den siste gruppa, til tross for en helt middelmådig leseopplevelse.
"Uten en tråd" - er den samfunnsmessig interessant, viktig og innflytelsesrik? Ja. Er det på noen måte god litteratur? Nei. Huff nei. Jens, dette var noen snåle greier.
3/5 stjerner.
Med sine drøye hundre-og-femti sider er boka til tider morsom i sine skildringer av sex, en gang i blant når den fram i sin samfunnskritikk. Dessverre er det sjeldent, aller mest er boka klissete, som krevde at jeg tok pauser underveis. Romanen oppfyller kunsten å skildre samleie mellom to (eller flere!) mennesker på ulike måter godt innledningsvis, men mot slutten av boka følte jeg at jeg leste det samme kapittelet for n-te gang.
Som et enkeltstående verk er det vanskelig å gripe fast i selve motivet med romanen fra Bjørneboes side. Derfor bør romanen leses med essayet Uten en forsvarstale. Essayet sto trykt som etterord i utgaven jeg leste, og var til stor hjelp med å kontekstualisere selve romanen. Det er nemlig først her forfatteren tydeliggjør sitt etiske og seksualmoralske perspektiv; "Seksualiteten er uskyldig så lenge moralbudene om redelighet, mot, alminnelig menneskelighet og hensynsfullhet følges."
For å forstå "Uten en tråd" krever det at man har kjennskap til den kultur- og seksialpolitiske ståa i Norge på 60-tallet. Det krever en forståelse for nettopp hvor rådende kristenkonservativt, patriarkalsk og reaksjonært tankegods var på denne tiden. Med dette i bakhue har jeg egentlig ikke vondt for å forstå hvorfor denne boka ble gjort ulovlig i Norge, og hvorfor Bjørneboe, anarkisten Bjørneboe, på sitt unike vis, valgte å opponere mot slikt tankegods i denne romanen.
For eksempel i sine skildringer av homofilt (og lesbisk) samleie er det ikke vanskelig å se for seg at det vakte både oppsikt og raseri blant deler av den lesende norske befolkninga på den tiden - men i dag er homofili for lengst legalisert og allment akseptert! Kanskje vi kan, og bør takke Bjørneboe, den tidlige 60-tallsradikalismen, sjølve SF-raddisenes favorittforfatter for å komme med et tydelig progressivt slag for en frigjort seksualmoral- og utfoldelse… - som nå på mange måter er realisert?
Alt i alt - dette var en sær bok av en utvilsomt sær forfatter. De fleste kjenner til og har hørt om "Uten en tråd" gjennom norskfagets skolepensum eller rett og slett interesse for litteratur. Få har derimot faktisk lest den. Det er stas å tilhøre den siste gruppa, til tross for en helt middelmådig leseopplevelse.
"Uten en tråd" - er den samfunnsmessig interessant, viktig og innflytelsesrik? Ja. Er det på noen måte god litteratur? Nei. Huff nei. Jens, dette var noen snåle greier.
3/5 stjerner.
November 6, 2011
This book kinda sucked.
Told from a young girl's perspective I guess this book is supposed to portray sexual liberation and realization. But it's definitely a pornography. There's no plot--when she is "travelling around Europe" it's like she just magically appears from place to place, in time for the next sex scene--and no reflection, other than some trite and pithy words dedicated to how shame and inhibitions about sex is bad, mmkay. She starts out having fun with another girl from school, moves on to being frustrated by boys as she can't reach climax with them, is taken in by the wise, altruistic Dr. Peterson who selflessly works to liberate young girls from timidity by educating them in sex every single day--e.g. bringing them to orgasm, fucking them, showing them how to serve him, having them perform enemas in front of him, etc. (I find it worth mentioning that the author states in the book's "apologia" that he knows this treatment works, from his own experience.) The down hill slope continues. The best part of a the book was some weird and surreal descriptions set in Hamburg, a brief interlude between the sex scenes.
I had a hard-on during most of the book, but it never got me so far as to actually masturbate.
And as for the langauge, I feel it's more appropriate å diskutere det på Norsk. Istedenfor fitte, så er det snakk om "blomsten," "åpningen," "sprekken;" istedenfor kuk, så er det snakk om "stangen," "våpenet," "planten." Analåpningen blir beskrevet som "det hemmelige hullet" eller "åpningen bak." Det hele gir beskrivelsene et noe barnslig glans. Dette er selvfølgelig gjort med vilje, da forfatteren selv påpeker igjen og igjen hvordan boka er blottet for "uanstendige" ord. Jeg skulle ønske den ikke var det.
Instead of seeing an effort to help girls come into their (sexual) own, instead of having a female protagonist with her own strong feminine voice, I see a hot girl with the voice & story of an older, more lustful, and more experienced guy, who satisfies his wants by turning them into fiction. She is a puppet in a porn for men. Just because she's not raped and brutalized, doesn't mean her story is any less driven by the masculine libido. To put it like this: it wouldn't surprise me if the author has fucked some thoroughly inhibited 20yos in his day, and this is party a labor of those frustrations. The female protagonist is always ready, gets turned on by almost nothing, by pure visuals, is never sore, sees orgasms as the goal of sex. Any form of pain is underplayed (like getting a scarcely lubricated cock rammed up your ass for the first time), all to the greater glory of her wonderful, and frequent orgasms. Instead of being liberating for the female sex, I feel it perpetuates anti-feminine feminism: the female gender and all its issues is just bad and broken and beyond repair, so let's all just become guys instead; women will be equal to men only by being exactly like them, especially when it comes to sex. (Men husk også, som den gode Dr. Peterson sies: du må tenke mere på ham enn på deg selv!) Sure. That would be great.
Told from a young girl's perspective I guess this book is supposed to portray sexual liberation and realization. But it's definitely a pornography. There's no plot--when she is "travelling around Europe" it's like she just magically appears from place to place, in time for the next sex scene--and no reflection, other than some trite and pithy words dedicated to how shame and inhibitions about sex is bad, mmkay. She starts out having fun with another girl from school, moves on to being frustrated by boys as she can't reach climax with them, is taken in by the wise, altruistic Dr. Peterson who selflessly works to liberate young girls from timidity by educating them in sex every single day--e.g. bringing them to orgasm, fucking them, showing them how to serve him, having them perform enemas in front of him, etc. (I find it worth mentioning that the author states in the book's "apologia" that he knows this treatment works, from his own experience.) The down hill slope continues. The best part of a the book was some weird and surreal descriptions set in Hamburg, a brief interlude between the sex scenes.
I had a hard-on during most of the book, but it never got me so far as to actually masturbate.
And as for the langauge, I feel it's more appropriate å diskutere det på Norsk. Istedenfor fitte, så er det snakk om "blomsten," "åpningen," "sprekken;" istedenfor kuk, så er det snakk om "stangen," "våpenet," "planten." Analåpningen blir beskrevet som "det hemmelige hullet" eller "åpningen bak." Det hele gir beskrivelsene et noe barnslig glans. Dette er selvfølgelig gjort med vilje, da forfatteren selv påpeker igjen og igjen hvordan boka er blottet for "uanstendige" ord. Jeg skulle ønske den ikke var det.
Instead of seeing an effort to help girls come into their (sexual) own, instead of having a female protagonist with her own strong feminine voice, I see a hot girl with the voice & story of an older, more lustful, and more experienced guy, who satisfies his wants by turning them into fiction. She is a puppet in a porn for men. Just because she's not raped and brutalized, doesn't mean her story is any less driven by the masculine libido. To put it like this: it wouldn't surprise me if the author has fucked some thoroughly inhibited 20yos in his day, and this is party a labor of those frustrations. The female protagonist is always ready, gets turned on by almost nothing, by pure visuals, is never sore, sees orgasms as the goal of sex. Any form of pain is underplayed (like getting a scarcely lubricated cock rammed up your ass for the first time), all to the greater glory of her wonderful, and frequent orgasms. Instead of being liberating for the female sex, I feel it perpetuates anti-feminine feminism: the female gender and all its issues is just bad and broken and beyond repair, so let's all just become guys instead; women will be equal to men only by being exactly like them, especially when it comes to sex. (Men husk også, som den gode Dr. Peterson sies: du må tenke mere på ham enn på deg selv!) Sure. That would be great.
November 6, 2017
3.5/5 - fifty shades for lit snobs.
April 14, 2020
Dette var rare greier. Det er jo veldig komisk at «Uten en tråd» var så kontroversiell på 60-tallet at Bjørneboe ble dømt for å «ha utgitt pornografi» når det som beskrives i boken knapt nok klarer å fylle en realitysending før første reklamepause i 2020. I så måte kommer «Uten en tråd» til å stå igjen som nok et eksempel på at «alt var ikke bedre før» – selv om mye av det som boken ble hyllet for som kvinnefrigjørende på 60-tallet neppe hadde bestått en #MeToo-test i dag.
Kanskje høydepunktet i utgaven jeg leste, en jubileumsutgave utgitt av Pax Forlag for noen år siden, er essayet «Istedenfor en forsvarstale» som Bjørneboe fikk utgitt (noen som vet hvor??) i etterkant av at han ble «avslørt» som forfatter av boken. Her står argumentene hans fjellstøtt den dag i dag – nemlig at vi er nødt til å omfavne litteratur som gjør vondt (i motsetning til det som Bjørneboe omtaler som «åndssvake revyteatre» og «tarvelig fjernsynsunderholdning» (vi må for øvrig aldri glemme at Bjørneboe var såpass elitefyr at han omtalte saken mot ham som «sacrificum intellectualis»)). Dog sklir essayet ut mot slutten, hvor statsadvokat Aulie blir beskyldt for å omfavne bavianvoldtekt av purunge jomfruer (!), men sette foten ned for en roman som var satirisk ment.
Uansett – dette er en klassiker det er verdt å få med seg. Men spre lesingen litt utover, for dette er klissete greier.
Kanskje høydepunktet i utgaven jeg leste, en jubileumsutgave utgitt av Pax Forlag for noen år siden, er essayet «Istedenfor en forsvarstale» som Bjørneboe fikk utgitt (noen som vet hvor??) i etterkant av at han ble «avslørt» som forfatter av boken. Her står argumentene hans fjellstøtt den dag i dag – nemlig at vi er nødt til å omfavne litteratur som gjør vondt (i motsetning til det som Bjørneboe omtaler som «åndssvake revyteatre» og «tarvelig fjernsynsunderholdning» (vi må for øvrig aldri glemme at Bjørneboe var såpass elitefyr at han omtalte saken mot ham som «sacrificum intellectualis»)). Dog sklir essayet ut mot slutten, hvor statsadvokat Aulie blir beskyldt for å omfavne bavianvoldtekt av purunge jomfruer (!), men sette foten ned for en roman som var satirisk ment.
Uansett – dette er en klassiker det er verdt å få med seg. Men spre lesingen litt utover, for dette er klissete greier.
September 22, 2021
LOL skjønner godt NÅ hvorfor denne boken var FORBUDT hahahahhahahhhahh
ok så ja jeg leste dette mmm dette var noe for seg selv :)
helt ærlig likte jeg fortellingen, reisen hennes men også hva den betydde for den tidsperioden den ble utgitt i. Jeg kan godt skjønne hvorfor denne boken var ulovlig men samtidig var den nødvendig og spennende på den perioden.
"Det finnes ingen spesiell seksual-moral! Uansett hva du gjør med deg selv – om du ligger med piker eller gutter -, eller hva i all verden du kan finne på å gjøre med dem og med deg så finnes det på det område ingen annen moral enn den som selv gjelder på alle andre områder av livet; redelighet, mot og hensynsfullhet.»
ok så ja jeg leste dette mmm dette var noe for seg selv :)
helt ærlig likte jeg fortellingen, reisen hennes men også hva den betydde for den tidsperioden den ble utgitt i. Jeg kan godt skjønne hvorfor denne boken var ulovlig men samtidig var den nødvendig og spennende på den perioden.
"Det finnes ingen spesiell seksual-moral! Uansett hva du gjør med deg selv – om du ligger med piker eller gutter -, eller hva i all verden du kan finne på å gjøre med dem og med deg så finnes det på det område ingen annen moral enn den som selv gjelder på alle andre områder av livet; redelighet, mot og hensynsfullhet.»
February 2, 2025
Vet ikke om den fortjener 2 eller 3 stjerner men gir den 2 fordi jeg vet da faen hva jeg nettopp leste skal jeg være ærlig😭 hun hadde legit bare s*x gjennom hele boka, men skjønte essensen av at man skulle finne seg selv og ikke være så skamfull over lystene sine når man er kvinne på den tiden.
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September 21, 2025Jens, du var en gæren type. Boka må ha vakt en vanvittig oppsikt i samtiden den blei skrevet i (fyren måtte jo i rettssak for den!)
June 28, 2023
Min første porno! Tidi og pussig
January 28, 2022
Samfunnsnyttig? Ja. Bra? Nei
January 26, 2025
Foruten den erotiske delen synes jeg boka var politisk, filosofisk og psykologisk spennende. Jeg synes vi fortsatt har fra våre forfedre at sex er knyttet til skam. Jeg følte jeg også gikk i terapi.
March 31, 2017
Jadda
July 12, 2023
booktok-girlies hadde hatt en field day med denne
February 16, 2025
Denne boka er egentlig bare veldig absurd og kåt. Jeg skjønner hvorfor den er skrevet - for å stå imot sensuren og homofober på 60-tallet - men fy faen det var veldig rart å lese.
Hele boka er bare om hvordan Lillian finner ut av sin egen seksualitet og blir komfortabel med sexlivet sitt
Hele boka er bare om hvordan Lillian finner ut av sin egen seksualitet og blir komfortabel med sexlivet sitt
February 1, 2026
Freaky bjørneboe på sitt beste. Likte ikk helt seksualiseringen men var jo meningen med boken. Men kanskje unødvendig å komme av tarmskylling for å vise kvinner som seksuellevesner. Jg r bare for woke
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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June 26, 2023Eksplisitt, monoton og genial. Bjørneboe er så kompromissløs at det virker lenge som han bare ønsker å sjokkere leserne, men budskapet kommer sakte frem, og tilbyr et rammeverk rundt seksualitet som tema som fremstår mer modent enn dagens.
February 13, 2020
Every man should read this just to awaken their inner feminist.
December 4, 2020
So what if this book is pornography? In that case it's the kind of pornography more people should read. It's a bitter shame that the Norwegian government has banned this book, as I think it should be read by most people. For country that prides itself on explicit sexual elements in art, it sure is hypocritical that Bjørneboe's work should be used as a martyr. I read the book in Norwegian, because there's no way I'd let Bjørneboe's wonderful words in my native language escape me. Bjørneboe admits to the book's shortcomings. It isn't perfect. The book could be developed further, and could do with a more direct thread to link its narrative (yes I see the irony of that sentence). It also lacks in characterisation, leading to Lillian becoming more of an aura, than an actual woman. But I'm sure Bjørneboe was aware of this. Hence the 4 stars. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions whilst reading this. In the beginning I was sure this was the Messiah. Then it all crashed around the doctor member introduction. It became rather male member centric, but given the author and the context this was alright. It was saved by its moral discussion and the way the story developed.
It was perhaps the most sexually progressive pornography I've witnessed (and I've been around the grapevine, I won't lie). It's amazing to me how this book from 40 years ago does a better more rounded description of female sexuality than most things in production these days. It actually made me more comfortable with my own sexuality. And for that I'm forever grateful. The book really highlighted sexual issues I've had in our modern "woke" world, and that's very striking to me. The book focuses on female sexuality in such detail that it should be hailed as a sort of textbook to female pleasure (although it could be slightly improved by today's research). The descriptions were also wonderful, and his writing really did shine at times. I do wish he would've visited the topic further on a later occasion, because I'm sure he would've had groundbreaking things to say.
It was perhaps the most sexually progressive pornography I've witnessed (and I've been around the grapevine, I won't lie). It's amazing to me how this book from 40 years ago does a better more rounded description of female sexuality than most things in production these days. It actually made me more comfortable with my own sexuality. And for that I'm forever grateful. The book really highlighted sexual issues I've had in our modern "woke" world, and that's very striking to me. The book focuses on female sexuality in such detail that it should be hailed as a sort of textbook to female pleasure (although it could be slightly improved by today's research). The descriptions were also wonderful, and his writing really did shine at times. I do wish he would've visited the topic further on a later occasion, because I'm sure he would've had groundbreaking things to say.
December 25, 2024
Ja, nei, eg veit ikkje korleis eg skal oppsummere dette, eg. Sjølve "moralen" er eg heilt med på, men sett med 2024-auge er det så mykje beint fram ekkelt. Det er eigentleg berre porno, og så er det eit slags forsøk på ein politisk bodskap inni der. Og eigentleg trur eg det berre er Bjørneboe sin self-insert forteljing. Det er han som er Lilian. Han skriv fram ein fantasi eller ti, med stort sannsyn også nokre eigne erfaringar, men noko realistisk framsyning av ei 19-årig jentes seksualliv er det iallfall ikkje. Det hadde slått godt an på Wattpad, sikkert, med y/n og allslags billege tropar.
Mykje av det er underhaldande nok, for all del. Men ei god forteljing? Tja. Stor litteratur? På ingen måte.
No treng blomen min næring for å få liv i seg att, altså. Stakkars vesle.
Mykje av det er underhaldande nok, for all del. Men ei god forteljing? Tja. Stor litteratur? På ingen måte.
No treng blomen min næring for å få liv i seg att, altså. Stakkars vesle.
January 15, 2025
Som historisk dokument er dette helt urolig radikalt. Kom jeg til å lese "Istedenfor en forsvarstale" av Jens Bjørneboe i sammenheng med at boken ble beslaglagt og han hadde advokater etter seg:
"Men samtidig inneholder boken skildringer av både lesbisk og homoseksuell utfoldelse! Ja, huff – det er så sant, så sant! Det skyldes at jeg ikke har noe imot lesbisk eller homoseksuell utfoldelse, jeg tror at for folk som har anlegg for det, er det sundt, riktig og naturlig. Derav bokens motto: Det kommer ikke an på hva du gjør med dem du ligger med, om det nu er gutter eller piker, men på at du oppfører seg menneskelig anstendig."
"Men samtidig inneholder boken skildringer av både lesbisk og homoseksuell utfoldelse! Ja, huff – det er så sant, så sant! Det skyldes at jeg ikke har noe imot lesbisk eller homoseksuell utfoldelse, jeg tror at for folk som har anlegg for det, er det sundt, riktig og naturlig. Derav bokens motto: Det kommer ikke an på hva du gjør med dem du ligger med, om det nu er gutter eller piker, men på at du oppfører seg menneskelig anstendig."
June 10, 2018
Var først svææært negativ i og med at det virker som dette er bare forfatterens erotiske fantasi. Tok jamen meg feil. Kan hende han brukte det som utgangspunkt. Uansett er ikke historiens handling verdt noe, i forhold til betydningen. Om du leser boka, så kan det være lurt å få med seg Bjørneboes uttaler
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July 4, 2021Boken som gjorde norsk rettshistorie, da dommer utnevnte seg selv til jury og bestemte for alle at her hadde Jens skrevet ord så store at øynene dine kunne falle ut og gjorde den forbudt.
Jens skulle fått Fritt Ord pris ene og alene for den bragden selv om den litterære dybden ikke kommer opp mot f.kes Haiene eller Kruttårnet
Jens skulle fått Fritt Ord pris ene og alene for den bragden selv om den litterære dybden ikke kommer opp mot f.kes Haiene eller Kruttårnet
April 8, 2018
This book was shocking when it came out in 1966, and was even forbidden by the norwegian government. In retrospect, the most interesting part of the book was Bjørneboes defense (or offense, as he called it) of the book, which comes at the nd of the edition i have.
December 8, 2020
A shocking book as Bjørneboe in himself always must have been; my favorite part of the book is however how the author paves way for everyone to understand how sexuality is for anyone. This, as long as all parties wish to participate and is not done to them what they wish is not.
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