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A review by anusha_reads
The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
5.0
THE OTHER NAME, SEPTOLOGY I&II, JON FOSSE, Translated by DAMION SEARLS
JON FOSSE was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2023 and has been bestowed with many other awards.
I can not possibly describe what the book is. I feel I'm 'a nobody' to write a review or comment on this artwork. It is like trying to describe a painting. Everybody might have a different perspective, but everyone would like to know what made the painter paint it in the first place or what his source of inspiration was. Are there any right answers?
This is a lyrical rambling of an old, religious painter, a widower named Asle, who forgets and keeps repeating things. He is helpful, friendly, yet aloof. He has a routine he prefers to stick to, like he always stays in the same room of a hotel he always checks into whenever he goes to the town. It happens over two days. The author has poured in all the thoughts of an old painter, Asle. His doppelganger, namesake is a drunkard, a painter too, and our protagonist is worried about him. The way there is a barrage of thoughts in our minds while driving alone or trying to sleep or while taking a walk; grudges, regrets and delights, things we like and dislike, to do or not to do; all these feelings have been encapsulated into this book. Sometimes, these thoughts are so overpowering that they might hinder our daily lives, and it happens to the protagonist, too.
Many years ago, I started reading Swann’s Way by Proust but did not finish it because it had long sentences that ran into pages. Though I felt Septology(I-II) moved at a slow pace, the story without breaks, which runs to pages, makes sense. It neither bothered me nor confused me as the prose is smooth-flowing.
If you are looking for a book with a plot, look elsewhere. This book reads like a memoir, and one easily falls into the rhythm of the fascinating prose. One needs to read with a little concentration as there are repetitions and people have the same names, too. The translation is so brilliant that it feels as though it is the original language.
To be continued…
Next in line, Septology III – V: I is Another
JON FOSSE was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2023 and has been bestowed with many other awards.
I can not possibly describe what the book is. I feel I'm 'a nobody' to write a review or comment on this artwork. It is like trying to describe a painting. Everybody might have a different perspective, but everyone would like to know what made the painter paint it in the first place or what his source of inspiration was. Are there any right answers?
This is a lyrical rambling of an old, religious painter, a widower named Asle, who forgets and keeps repeating things. He is helpful, friendly, yet aloof. He has a routine he prefers to stick to, like he always stays in the same room of a hotel he always checks into whenever he goes to the town. It happens over two days. The author has poured in all the thoughts of an old painter, Asle. His doppelganger, namesake is a drunkard, a painter too, and our protagonist is worried about him. The way there is a barrage of thoughts in our minds while driving alone or trying to sleep or while taking a walk; grudges, regrets and delights, things we like and dislike, to do or not to do; all these feelings have been encapsulated into this book. Sometimes, these thoughts are so overpowering that they might hinder our daily lives, and it happens to the protagonist, too.
Many years ago, I started reading Swann’s Way by Proust but did not finish it because it had long sentences that ran into pages. Though I felt Septology(I-II) moved at a slow pace, the story without breaks, which runs to pages, makes sense. It neither bothered me nor confused me as the prose is smooth-flowing.
If you are looking for a book with a plot, look elsewhere. This book reads like a memoir, and one easily falls into the rhythm of the fascinating prose. One needs to read with a little concentration as there are repetitions and people have the same names, too. The translation is so brilliant that it feels as though it is the original language.
To be continued…
Next in line, Septology III – V: I is Another