On my copy of this book, one of the blurbs on the back says that the book is a "strange mystical Möbius strip of a novel," and I can't think of any better way to describe it than that. As other reviews here have indicated, there are two characters named Asle. Fosse's technical skill (and that of the translator) are such that the transitions between the two Asles, whose lives intersect in various ways, are subtle, seamless, and incredibly enchanting. The prose is stream of consciousness, and completely mesmerizing, and the minute detailing of everyday events and occurrences serves to illustrate that those events are, in fact, far more complex than they appear on the surface. The book begins in the middle of a sentence, suggesting that this stream has been flowing for a while and will continue to flow after you close the cover of this book.