Blæsende gry

by William Heinesen

Windswept Dawn is a Faroese Under Milk Wood revealing the whole personality of a small closely knit community. William Heinesen brings to life a whole host of vivid, larger than life character from the sectarian preacher, Reinhold Vaag, the drunken, philosophising solicitor Morberg, the well-meaning voyeur Vitus, to the firebrand shopkeeper Landrus and the bizarre teacher Balduin who is intent on reaching spiritual perfection. We see the large cast of characters battling against the elements, the hostile sea and the rough terrain while the Lutherans and the Plymouth Brethren fight for their souls in a changing world. The main character in the novel is the Faroes Island themselves.

251 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

William Heinesen is the best-known writer that the Faroe Islands have produced. He wrote mainly in Danish, but all of his books, which are set in the Faroe Islands, have been translated into his native Faroese. When Heinesen heard rumours that he was to win the Nobel Prize he requested that his nomination be withdrawn, discussing his choice to write in Danish with a mixture of bitterness and regret: "Faroese was at one time held in low regard - it's fair to say that the language was kept down. For all that, Faroese has generated remarkable literature, and it would have been right to award the Nobel Prize to an author who had written in Faroese. If I were given the prize, then a Danish writer would have got it, and Faroese literary endeavours would have been dealt a heavy blow". He died aged 91.

Reviews

[Jórunn Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Håkon Remøy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boka er William Heinesen sin debutroman, ho går føre seg i eit øysamfunn, på fiktive Trymø på Færøyane. Sjølv om forfattaren var færøying, so skreiv han på dansk, so forfattarskapen er lett tilgjengeleg for nordmenn òg.

Det var ein del som var lett å kjenna seg att i, særleg for meg som kjem frå eit øysamfunn sjølv. Boka kom ut i 1934, og skildrar eit samfunn med både storbønder og folk som vil gjera seg rike på fiske. Det er ogso store religiøse spenningar i det vesle samfunnet, med folkekyrkje mot "bekendertro" og andre trusretningar.

Mykje får meg til å tenkja at dette ikkje er so ulikt slik det var i heimtraktene mine på Sunnmøre for kring 100 år sidan.

Boka er fin å lesa, me får fylgt forskjellige personar i tredje person gjennom kapitla – eg vil kanskje nemna at eg til tider sleit litt med å skilja dei forskjellige figurane i romanen frå kvarandre, då det var so mange på -us. Men eg tykkjer denne boka var vel verd å lesa, me bør ikkje gløyma den færøyske litteraturen i det nordiske!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Windswept Dawn is Heinesen's first novel, and to be honest it felt like a slog to read. The story is based on a small community in the Faroe Islands, where most of the villagers are fishermen, shopkeepers or farmers. There are multiple characters in this book and the focus is on their interactions. The main topic of discussion in this book is about a group of evangelists that are sharing the gospel, with the idea of being baptized as an adult and confessing the conversion experience. Many of the converts are from the established National church, which is Lutheran. There is a lot of discussion of sin and redemption. I felt that there was no real conclusion to the story, it kind of just stopped.

Heinesen was offered a Nobel Prize but declined it.

I did like the descriptions of the Faroe Island and the role the environment played in the villagers lives. I think I will have to read more of the author before I make my mind up about him.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books about small villages in different parts of the world.
William Heinsen is considered to be one of the best Scandanavian writers of the 20th Century.
He is a painter and a poet as well.
This book takes place on the Fatoe Islands and is about the people who live there.
The villagers are struggling between believing what the National Church teaches or what the conversionist missionaries are teaching.
There are colorful characters like Landrus, Vitus and Sylvanius who reminded me of people I have known.
What makes this novel interesting is how these people survive in this bleak and barren landscape.
This is William Heinsen's first novel and it is very easy to read.
This book was originally written in Danish and translated in 2007 to English.
I look forward to reading more of his novels.

[Caterina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably a 3.5 more than 4 stars, as the plot is all over the place and too many storylines were opened and never closed. Regardless, the description of life and characters in the small communities on the Faroe is a gem, and for this reason the book was a delight to read.

[Sarah Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something different: a rambling, at times confused, but thoroughly engaging novel telling of a year in the life of the remote communities of the Faroes.