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reviewed Septologien by Jon Fosse (Septologien)

Jon Fosse: Septologien (Hardcover, Norwegian nynorsk language, 2022, Det Norske Samlaget) 5 stars

Fosses storverk «Septologien» kom ut i tre bøker i 2019, 2020 og 2021. Bøkene hausta …

Takes a while to get into it, but it's brilliant afterwards

5 stars

I originally reviewed only the first volume, The Other Name, read in the Swedish translation. I was of two minds about it, bothered by the repetition and often inane thoughts and conversations. But contrary to my initial intentions, I felt drawn to try and read the rest of the Septology.

It was a good thing to do, as the rhythm and atmosphere created by the prose finally got ahold of me, and the actions and memories of the narrator became more interesting and poignant. Having now read the whole book, I came to think it's brilliant.

It's very intimate, as we end up inhabiting the mind of the narrator to the point where it feels like home. There is a humanity to the protagonist, and to a lesser degree to the minds he also comes to inhabit throughout the book, that feels deeply authentic. (The repeating speculations about religion left me cold, though).

It takes a while to get into the book (in my case, it took me the whole first volume), but it is great once one's inside.

For the record, my 3-star review of the first volume only, posted some months back (oh, was I wrong), and now deleted:

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 …