Nina Lykke previously showed us the inherent madness of Norwegian society as seen through the glasses of law And teachers.
This time the Norwegian literary spirit will be cleansedthe pond. And who did you choose to do the cleaning?the work?
Say hello to Knut A. Pettersen! Author. Well in fiftyyears.
He hasn’t been able to write anything correctly for years. He is still remembered for his third novel he, which he refers to as “The famous book”.
In return, he recently experienced being portrayed as a harasser by a younger writer.
And it is she who has been invited to participate in a jury with the largest literature in the countryfestival in Lillehammer. He moves inexorably towards a showdown in Gudbrandsdalsthe width of the flame!
Nach in the hotel
Before settlement time approaches, we’ll also take a look at everything else that can be said to belong to the standardthe menu for a Norwegian literaturefestival in 2020.
Samer, Feminists in Hijab, transKenyan people and grumbling poets: they all meet in front of a sausage at the Dagbladet party and the nachspiel at the Breiseth hotel.
Endless lines of ill-prepared literary conversations must be guided by outlandish agendasleader, in front of an audience that can’t stop staring at their cell phones.
Future archivists wondering how our time has faded will find a rich sourcesupply in this novel.
Different realities
But there is also another truth about this cultural figure accused of abuse. This truth is curated by Knut’s ex-wife, Lene. She knows he is incapable of harassing anything.
On the contrary. He is, and always has been, a womanizer he chooses completely voluntarily.
Two realitiesthe descriptions therefore stand against each other.
Knut is a fairly normal person with strengths and weaknessesit is called on a receding front, likethe wife knows it is – Andis a horny lizard, as it appears in thousands of copies through “Virkelighetsthe author’s novel?
Tattooed at a sausage party
But what about culture?the woman? She has been given enough attentionidentity?
What a womanroles are available in the literary and media narratives of our time? Is it true that women tend to end up as a victim? What then becomes the task of literature?
Nina Lykke contributes some new variations: drunk, young, tattooed woman with no inhibitions at a sausage party. Strategic realitywriter who places himself in the position of victim to build his literary career.
Shades of happiness for caricature. This is his strategy, and it goes a long way.
These provocations are marveloushorizontal message. It must be possible to show off and talk about this type of woman. And it must be done with the help of the aboveunit. This is the task of art. To speak completely freely. Totalchecks can be carried out in so-called reality. The artist is not here to have fun!
So the question is finally how artistically it will be successful. The answer is, even in this novel, that reading is a slightly contrasted pleasure. Some dialogues sit like a shot. Others don’t.
Shoot from the hip
That is a culturethe man was to be hanged with both of themname and surnamename in a Norwegian novel is not entirely true – and is a central premise in the story.
Maybe, I think I should say maybe, I might as well have wished for a slightly more nuanced portrait of Knut’s femme fatale when they finally meet on stage.
But these insidethe twists and turns don’t obscure the joy I feel for Norwegian literature that Nina Lykke has.
She is a trapezeartist who is balanced on a taut line – without certaintyincitementnet. She is courteousthe fool who says things as they are. The child as turned onthe open toeAs soon as. This makes her a giftpack for those who feel a little conformist.
Nina Lykke wrote an epic for strangers.
Hey!
I read and review the literature in NRK. Please also read my review of Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, “Beyond” by Abdulrazak Gurnah or Franz Kafka “The process” translated by Jon Fosse.
