Scan barcode
A review by kilgoretrout
Niels Lyhne by Jens Peter Jacobsen
4.0
I came across this book through re-reading Rilke's, "Letter's to a young poet" and was intrigued. I can empathize with some other reviewers who may not like the archaic nature of the writing, it's flowy, highly descriptive passages that can feel sentimental or melodramatic. I should add this isn't a happy novel. The danes are not known to be the happiest folk, traditionally, but this one is particularly bleak. The plot of Niel's life may get lost a long the way, and even the relationships may not seem sincere given the verbose writing, but the level of sophistication within the text is exemplary to me. The writing is lush, sumptuous, exquisite and beautiful. In 2020, a book like this may be good for poets or writers who need a push in area of environmental description.
It's for the writing that I enjoyed this book. I was entirely enchanted by the passages and the ideas that are expressed are well put and illuminating.
As for what Jacobsen is trying to tell us with this, well, it's open to some interpretation. He gives us an avowed atheist and poet who witnesses death, and rejection and pain and feels the world deeply and finally dies himself. Near the end he decides to refuse the pastor. This could simply be Jacobsen's rebellious willingness to write a novel where someone goes against God, or perhaps that the lines near the end tell us the kind of truth Niels happens upon; that we are born alone and die alone and that perhaps there is a nobility, or even divinity, in staying true to yourself at the very end.
It's for the writing that I enjoyed this book. I was entirely enchanted by the passages and the ideas that are expressed are well put and illuminating.
As for what Jacobsen is trying to tell us with this, well, it's open to some interpretation. He gives us an avowed atheist and poet who witnesses death, and rejection and pain and feels the world deeply and finally dies himself. Near the end he decides to refuse the pastor. This could simply be Jacobsen's rebellious willingness to write a novel where someone goes against God, or perhaps that the lines near the end tell us the kind of truth Niels happens upon; that we are born alone and die alone and that perhaps there is a nobility, or even divinity, in staying true to yourself at the very end.