A review by checkie
A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse

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.