Hello, Readers.
Thank you to everyone who brought their observations of and insights into Jon Fosse’s novel The Other Name: Septology I-II! Below are links for further exploration and details for our February 25 discussion.
Links for The Other Name:
About Jon Fosse, from his literary agency.
Video of a bookstore conversation about the trilogy, Fosse’s work overall, and the art of translation featuring Jon Fosse and translator Damion Searls:
In this Los Angeles Review of Books article, Fosse discusses why he writes in Nynorsk and the influence of theologian Meister Eckhart.
Video of a 2023 conversation about “Why the American Theatre Needs Nobel Laureate Jon Fosse” from HowlRound Theatre Commons (includes an excerpt from one of his plays).
View the painting Asle so admires, Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord by Hans Gude and Adolph Tideman (with commentary), from the National Museum (Oslo).
One of our members observed a connection to the emotion of Edvard Munch’s paintings. Here the National Museum shares images and commentary about its collection of Munch’s works, including The Scream.
A brief summary of Norway’s languages.
And, of course, the remaining books in the trilogy: I Is Another and A New Name.
In answer to our question about Fosse’s experience as a painter:
“Still, Septology is just an invention — I was never a painter. I’m using my own life and what I’ve read as material, not as something I want to write in a realistic way. Everything is transformed. When I write, my experience becomes nothing, flat. My experiences don’t have wings, but when I write well, I manage to make them fly. I’m on the opposite side of “autofiction” — I’m simply writing fiction.” (Los Angeles Review of Books interview)
February’s Discussion
In February, we turn to Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Hochschild.
About the book:
“When Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, a bewildered nation turned to Strangers in Their Own Land to understand what Trump voters were thinking when they cast their ballots. Arlie Hochschild, one of the most influential sociologists of her generation, had spent the preceding five years immersed in the community around Lake Charles, Louisiana, a Tea Party stronghold.” (more)
Details:
Sunday, February 25, 2024
11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (approx.) Pacific Time
Books Inc. Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness, San Francisco
The book is in stock at Books Inc. (The Ebook is available, too.)
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