I read the first book, The Other Name, comprising the first 2 parts, in the Swedish translation. I don't think I'll read the rest.

The book is an unbroken stream of consciousness, mostly following the mind of the protagonist Asle, an older, sufficiently successful local painter. Interestingly, occasionally it seems like the stream of consciousness expands to what goes on in the mind of Asle's friend, and sort of double, who is also a painter, also called Asle, but with a much more troubled present.

There is very little plot, as we inhabit the mind of Asle, with his (very) repetitive everyday thought patterns, memories, troubles dealing with grief, as well as few reflections on God and art. There are several repetitive and very inane conversations, especially with his neighbour. Added to the repetition of everyday thoughts, it often feels like reading never-ending small talk.

The repetition occasionally succeeds at creating a sort of hypnotic atmosphere, but that gets tiring quickly. Moreover, Asle's thoughts on religion and art struck me as rather uninteresting, and sort of naive/cliché.

A few nice scenes here and there, and some occasional success at building an engaging atmosphere, but not much else that might make me want to read the other parts.