I enjoy reading books by Nobel laureates from time to time. So when I came across this novel, I had to check it out. It's a novella, so not very long. A bit more plot certainly wouldn't have hurt the story. I wasn't particularly impressed. The narrative jumped around, and the protagonists lacked any compelling qualities. It's simply a very old book that hasn't aged well.
And if it was meant as a satire, I would have expected some humor.
Bjørnson also wrote the Norwegian national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (Yes, we love this country).
Book Description:
"Harald Kaas was sixty. He had given up his free, uncriticised bachelor life; his yacht was no longer seen off the coast in summer; his tours to England and the south had ceased; nay, he was rarely to be found even at his club in Christiania. His gigantic figure was never seen in the doorways; he was failing. Bandy-legged he had always been, but this defect had increased; his herculean back was rounded, and he stooped a little. His forehead, always of the broadest-no one else's hat would fit him-was now one of the highest, that is to say, he had lost all his hair, except a ragged lock over each ear and a thin fringe behind. He was beginning also to lose his teeth, which were strong though small, and blackened by tobacco; and now, instead of 'deuce take it' he said 'deush take it.'"
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903 "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit".
I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.
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