Reviews

A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse

ella101's review against another edition

This book started off good but I’m on about page 100 and gosh there’s no full stops and I don’t even know what’s going on!! 

samikoonjones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

soleglad's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective

4.5

tarrowood's review against another edition

5.0

An intense grappling with the divinity of God and His power through His powerlessness via the allowance of free will.
Fosse braids together a study of what it means to suffer and live both with and without God using parallel characters (doppelgängers, perhaps?). Two realities intertwine to create paradoxical world that begins weaving time itself together?
All of my thoughts will never be complete with this one. A trilogy spanning 667 pages that is one sentence. I’ve never read such a rhythmic book that mimics being motionless on a sea (I thought of this in book one, and Fosse kind of hammers it home in the second and especially the third). It is incantatory and creates its form through its formlessness? I don’t know, and I don’t think I’ll ever know; just like Asle, the main character, stresses that to know God is to never fully understand Him, that there’s a divinity and holiness in the mysticism shrouding our Creator

hakimbriki's review against another edition

5.0

It is striking how a book without much intrigue or suspense can be so riveting. This final entry in the Septology delivers an emotional and gut-wrenching climax that is worthy of the journey. Even more astounding is the author's ability to fully preserve the thick layer of mystery enveloping his tale without compromising character development. Asle's arc is one of the most puzzling, searing, and indelible I've ever read.

regineschottker's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.5

amongthefaithless's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

outis_metis's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

checkie's review against another edition

5.0

Jon Fosse’s Septology (seven sections divided between 3 volumes) is told from the point of view of an ageing widowed painter named Asle living in a rural part of Western Norway. The plot of the novel is sparse, mainly involving Asle’s multiple trips to the city of Bjørgvin (Bergen) to visit a friend and doppelgänger, another ageing painter named Asle and to take his artworks to a gallery for an exhibition. The scarcity of any real plot allows for rich and meaningful meditations on art, life, death and religion, with Fosse focussing on capturing the essence of consciousness in the work rather than any sequence of events. 

Fosse writes over 800 pages without using a full stop. Instead, the prose functions as a continuous stream of consciousness, each thought tumbling into the next, seamlessly transitioning from the present day to reminiscences of childhood, getting accepted in art school and meeting and marrying his wife. Asle’s reminiscences are interweaved with brief glimpses to the other Asle in hospital and his respective flashbacks to childhood and adolescence, prompting the reader to question the link between the two (or perhaps one?!) characters.

This was a moving and poignant work that I feel will stay with me for a long time. Jon Fosse is truly unique and exceptional writer and I really look forward to reading more of his work in the future. 

anusha_reads's review against another edition

medium-paced

5.0

A NEW NAME, SEPTOLOGY VI&VII, JON FOSSE (NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023), Translated by DAMION SEARLS

 This book was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022 

The Septology is a captivating  story of  Asle, spanning seven days. 

Asle, a widower, intimately shares his present thoughts and past memories, expressing profound loneliness and longing for his late wife. He recalls all the moments he had with his wife. Despite being a renowned painter, Asle remains a humble, unassuming old man. 

The concluding part delves into Asle's new life at art school and his marriage to Ales, exploring the fascinating tale of how he meets the gallerist Beyer and achieves success selling his paintings. 

A part I loved was a scene where Asle pushes the swing Ales is sitting on, and Ales loves it and swings higher and higher. A similar scene is mentioned in the first book, where Asle, while taking a walk, sees a young woman sitting on the swing being pushed by a guy.  Asle reminisces the time he enjoyed with Ales. I found it very sweet and sad. 

There are two Asle and two ladies called Guro. Why did the author do that? Was it to show two parallel lives? Was it to depict the irrelevance of names? Or was it just to show that in life, there are people with the same names and different lives?

Like in the other two books, the marathon sentences with haunting and atmospheric narratives only add to the brilliance.

The voice inside Asle’s head debates the connection between God and humans, tries to find purpose and direction through faith, suffers due to isolation, questions one's identity, and tries to find the meaning of human existence vis-à-vis life and death, morality, etc.

As we grow old, we live mostly with our memories. Often grandpas and grandmas have told me a lot of tales about their childhood. In fact, they enjoy the narration themselves, and it kind of brings them comfort and evokes a sense of nostalgia. Whether sad or happy, these stories offer glimpses into who they were or how their lives got moulded. Reminiscing is a way of connecting with life, finding meaning, and reminding oneself of the journey undertaken, that is, a person’s history.

The ending was a bit ambiguous,  left to readers' discretion, I think!

This concludes the Septology.

This is a must-read!