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Scenes from a Childhood
One of Norway's most celebrated authors and playwrights, Jon Fosse is famed for the minimalist and unsettling quality of his writing. Scenes from a Childhood draws together a number of Fosse's most powerful short pieces, spanning his entire career.
In the title work, we are presented with a loosely autobiographical narrative strand made up of multiple shards of memory covering infancy to awkward adolescence. The collection also contains Fosse's haunting and dream-like novella And Then My Dog Will Come Back for Me, along with his first published story, `Him', written in 1981.
Taken from various sources, this will be the first time that these pieces appear alongside each other in the same collection, offering readers the chance to discover the best of Fosse's inimitable spare and poetic prose
In the title work, we are presented with a loosely autobiographical narrative strand made up of multiple shards of memory covering infancy to awkward adolescence. The collection also contains Fosse's haunting and dream-like novella And Then My Dog Will Come Back for Me, along with his first published story, `Him', written in 1981.
Taken from various sources, this will be the first time that these pieces appear alongside each other in the same collection, offering readers the chance to discover the best of Fosse's inimitable spare and poetic prose
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
About the author
Jon Fosse
237 books1,372 followersJon Olav Fosse was born in Haugesund, Norway and currently lives in Bergen. He debuted in 1983 with the novel Raudt, svart (Red, black). His first play, Og aldri skal vi skiljast, was performed and published in 1994. Jon Fosse has written novels, short stories, poetry, children's books, essays and plays. His works have been translated into more than forty languages. He is widely considered as one of the world's greatest contemporary playwrights. Fosse was made a chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite of France in 2007. Fosse also has been ranked number 83 on the list of the Top 100 living geniuses by The Daily Telegraph.
He was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable".
Since 2011, Fosse has been granted the Grotten, an honorary residence owned by the Norwegian state and located on the premises of the Royal Palace in the city centre of Oslo. The Grotten is given as a permanent residence to a person specifically bestowed this honour by the King of Norway for their contributions to Norwegian arts and culture.
He was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable".
Since 2011, Fosse has been granted the Grotten, an honorary residence owned by the Norwegian state and located on the premises of the Royal Palace in the city centre of Oslo. The Grotten is given as a permanent residence to a person specifically bestowed this honour by the King of Norway for their contributions to Norwegian arts and culture.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
December 29, 2023
Jon Fosse is a leading Norwegian writer and often tipped as a potential winner of his home country’s Nobel Prize - which 5 years after I wrote this he has just won (not I think it is fair to say for this effort).
Fitzcarraldo (the rightly renowned small press, and the recent winner of the 2018 Man Booker International Prize with “Flights”) have published this selection of some of Fosse’s shorter work Ahead of its publication (in three volumes) of the translation of his latest novel.
Now it a cliché when viewing modern art to say “my child could have painted that” – one I often feel but avoid saying as I don’t pretend to be anything other than a Philistine in modern art.
I perhaps flatter myself that I have reasonably sophisticated tastes in literature (albeit with a liking for Neal Stephenson and George RR Martin). I was after all a judge on the Republic of Consciousness Prize whose short list was described as “more radical” than the Goldsmith prize by the Guardian.
The first part of the book is “Scenes from a Childhood”- which contains a number of short, disconnected, narrative pieces which are partly fictionalised versions of his childhood memory.
Here is one such example in full.
Now I don’t think I am exaggerating to say that this would be quite a reasonable effort for my 8 year old.
In case though there is any doubt of Fosse’s dark Nordic credentials a number of the stories feature either copious bleeding or a sudden death. This actually becomes so predictable as to be laughable – for example I started a short 1.5 page story about Fosse’s memories of his grandparents and thought I wonder if his grandfather will die or his grandmother accidentally cut off her leg. Sure enough at the book’s end we are told he finds his grandmother crying because his grandfather is dead – I actually, I am afraid, laughed out loud.
The collection finishes with what is to be fair to Fosse a children’s story (“Little Story”), although one which is extremely simple and I could only imagine reading to a very young child, and even then it is without the clever rhythm or rhyme which distinguishes the best stories for that age group.
Interestingly though it’s clear that Fosse has incorporated many of the elements of Scenes from a Childhood – so I realised perhaps I was being unfair and Scenes from a Childhood was more simple working notes (albeit I have no idea why anyone would choose to publish them).
However I then moved on to his more conventional work – for example a short story Dreamt on Stone. Here is an excerpt:
Now I can imagine one of my children writing this – I cannot imagine them actually giving it to their teacher as I would simply tell them to rewrite it.
Hopefully Fosse’s novels are very different to this book – and it is best regarded as the literary equivalent of one of those compilations of outakes, B-sides and experimental songs by famous artists which are sometimes published (although I think one that would have best been published after a translation of his more refined work).
Fitzcarraldo (the rightly renowned small press, and the recent winner of the 2018 Man Booker International Prize with “Flights”) have published this selection of some of Fosse’s shorter work Ahead of its publication (in three volumes) of the translation of his latest novel.
Now it a cliché when viewing modern art to say “my child could have painted that” – one I often feel but avoid saying as I don’t pretend to be anything other than a Philistine in modern art.
I perhaps flatter myself that I have reasonably sophisticated tastes in literature (albeit with a liking for Neal Stephenson and George RR Martin). I was after all a judge on the Republic of Consciousness Prize whose short list was described as “more radical” than the Goldsmith prize by the Guardian.
The first part of the book is “Scenes from a Childhood”- which contains a number of short, disconnected, narrative pieces which are partly fictionalised versions of his childhood memory.
Here is one such example in full.
ASLE WANTS A DOG OF HIS OWN
On Sundays when he was little Asle and his parents used to go for walks. They used to walk past a little house and the man who lived there had a little white dog with black spots. Whenever they walked past the house the dog leaped over Asle, who patted it and talked to it. Asle wants a dog for himself so badly but his mother says he can’t have one. Asle wants a dog of his own.
Now I don’t think I am exaggerating to say that this would be quite a reasonable effort for my 8 year old.
In case though there is any doubt of Fosse’s dark Nordic credentials a number of the stories feature either copious bleeding or a sudden death. This actually becomes so predictable as to be laughable – for example I started a short 1.5 page story about Fosse’s memories of his grandparents and thought I wonder if his grandfather will die or his grandmother accidentally cut off her leg. Sure enough at the book’s end we are told he finds his grandmother crying because his grandfather is dead – I actually, I am afraid, laughed out loud.
The collection finishes with what is to be fair to Fosse a children’s story (“Little Story”), although one which is extremely simple and I could only imagine reading to a very young child, and even then it is without the clever rhythm or rhyme which distinguishes the best stories for that age group.
Interestingly though it’s clear that Fosse has incorporated many of the elements of Scenes from a Childhood – so I realised perhaps I was being unfair and Scenes from a Childhood was more simple working notes (albeit I have no idea why anyone would choose to publish them).
However I then moved on to his more conventional work – for example a short story Dreamt on Stone. Here is an excerpt:
And then you say. And then there was someone who said something to me and I tried to get up but I couldn’t ,and then there was someone who said something to me and I tried to get up. And then I stood there. And then I opened a door. And then I went in the door and shut it behind me. And then, you say. And I say that I don’t remember anything and then I remember that I woke up and I was lying inside on the floor. I got up. I was standing. I walked. And then? you say. I thought I had to go lie down.
Now I can imagine one of my children writing this – I cannot imagine them actually giving it to their teacher as I would simply tell them to rewrite it.
Hopefully Fosse’s novels are very different to this book – and it is best regarded as the literary equivalent of one of those compilations of outakes, B-sides and experimental songs by famous artists which are sometimes published (although I think one that would have best been published after a translation of his more refined work).
October 15, 2023
There is something about Jon Fosse that I can’t seem to get out of my head? Mystical? Spiritual? Repetitive? Mesmerizing? Simple and yet, oh so deep? Disturbing and oddly different? Maybe it’s that French word, délicieux? Delightful, divine, supremely good, superb, wonderful.
Whatever it is you can find all these attributes in these five short stories published here. “Scenes from a Childhood” is a reflection of Fosse’s own childhood, but it’s novelized. Factual and story blends together. If you have read Septology then it’s all here, just told “differently.” They are scenes, like a movie or a play, we get just enough information as the story unfolds.
The masterpiece in my mind is “And then my dog will come back to me.” This horror story tells the story of a person, who dog is allegedly killed by a creepy neighbour down the street. Revenge with a capital “R” unfolds in that hypnotic manner. We almost side with the narrator but our better judgment holds us back.
The other three stories, “How it started,” “Dreamt in stone,” and “Little sister” all complete his ideology and views. Great snippets on his writing style.
If you haven’t read Fosse, this is a good starter piece. If you have read his masterpiece Septology, then this is a reminder that the Nobel committee made the right choice.
Whatever it is you can find all these attributes in these five short stories published here. “Scenes from a Childhood” is a reflection of Fosse’s own childhood, but it’s novelized. Factual and story blends together. If you have read Septology then it’s all here, just told “differently.” They are scenes, like a movie or a play, we get just enough information as the story unfolds.
The masterpiece in my mind is “And then my dog will come back to me.” This horror story tells the story of a person, who dog is allegedly killed by a creepy neighbour down the street. Revenge with a capital “R” unfolds in that hypnotic manner. We almost side with the narrator but our better judgment holds us back.
The other three stories, “How it started,” “Dreamt in stone,” and “Little sister” all complete his ideology and views. Great snippets on his writing style.
If you haven’t read Fosse, this is a good starter piece. If you have read his masterpiece Septology, then this is a reminder that the Nobel committee made the right choice.
February 2, 2021
Labai trumpi sakinukai. Kapoti. Su pasikartojimais. Kapotais pasikartojimais. Pasikartojimais sakinukuose. Labai trumpuose sakinukuose. Labai trumpuose.
arba kaip tik labai ilgi sakiniai, kurių pradžiose nėra didžiosios raidės, ir kur tiek daug kablelių, tiek daug kablelių, kiek ir pasikartojimų daug tuose ilguose sakiniuose, kuriuose daug kablelių, sakiniuose, kurių pradžiose nėra didžiosios raidės, bet yra pasikartojimų.
Nesužavėta... Priminė vaikystėje skaitytą knygą apie kažkokį Gustą, kur tas sugalvoja rašyti kino scenarijų, pasiima lapą, žiūri pro langą, nieko nevyksta, nieko parašyti nepavyksta.
arba kaip tik labai ilgi sakiniai, kurių pradžiose nėra didžiosios raidės, ir kur tiek daug kablelių, tiek daug kablelių, kiek ir pasikartojimų daug tuose ilguose sakiniuose, kuriuose daug kablelių, sakiniuose, kurių pradžiose nėra didžiosios raidės, bet yra pasikartojimų.
Nesužavėta... Priminė vaikystėje skaitytą knygą apie kažkokį Gustą, kur tas sugalvoja rašyti kino scenarijų, pasiima lapą, žiūri pro langą, nieko nevyksta, nieko parašyti nepavyksta.
May 26, 2020
Reading The Other Name: Septology I-II was one of my personal highlights of this year's Booker International longlist. This short collection seems rather slight by comparison, but it is still an interesting read, and is to some extent complementary. For me the most impressive piece, and also the darkest, is the novella "And then my dog will come back to me".
December 11, 2023
Nobelio literatūros premija reikalinga tam, kad plačioji visuomenė paskaitytų biškį kitokių knygų, negu būna leidyklų topuose, o skaitydami galvotų: "Ale už ką čia tas Nobelis?.."
Change my mind.
O jei rimtai, knygos pavadinimas tiksliai atitinka jos pirmąją, ir man labiausiai patikusią, dalį.
LABAI LABAI paprasti ir paprasta kalba surašyti vaikystės / paauglystės vaizdeliai, skaitant beveik kelia abejonę "tai kur čia literatūra?", bet man kaip tik patiko tas maksimalus apvalymas nuo literatūriškumo, autentikos ieškojimas kiek priminė kitą nobelistę Annie Ernaux, tik Ernaux labiau spaudžia ir reflektuoja, o Fosse lieka tik aprašymo lygmenyje, kas tas situacijas paverčia lyg ir atpažįstamomis.
Antra dalis apie sesutę kiek žodingesnė, irgi faina, nors mane kiek suglumino, kad atsikartoja pirmoje dalyje minėtos situacijos.
Trečia dalis sugadino nuotaiką. "Paprastiems kaimo žmonėms" gimsta vaikas, ir žodžiai, žodžiai, ir sakiniai nesibaigiantys, ir puodas verda, ir vaikas papo ieško, o dabar iš kūdikio perspektyvos pažiūrėkime, o tėvas štai galvoja, kaip dukterį reikia parsiplukdyti, vat ir į to žmogaus pasaulį reikia įsijausti, ir į ano, ir grįžta ta "literatūra", kurios nebuvimas taip džiugiai nuteikė pirmoje dalyje.
Change my mind.
O jei rimtai, knygos pavadinimas tiksliai atitinka jos pirmąją, ir man labiausiai patikusią, dalį.
LABAI LABAI paprasti ir paprasta kalba surašyti vaikystės / paauglystės vaizdeliai, skaitant beveik kelia abejonę "tai kur čia literatūra?", bet man kaip tik patiko tas maksimalus apvalymas nuo literatūriškumo, autentikos ieškojimas kiek priminė kitą nobelistę Annie Ernaux, tik Ernaux labiau spaudžia ir reflektuoja, o Fosse lieka tik aprašymo lygmenyje, kas tas situacijas paverčia lyg ir atpažįstamomis.
Antra dalis apie sesutę kiek žodingesnė, irgi faina, nors mane kiek suglumino, kad atsikartoja pirmoje dalyje minėtos situacijos.
Trečia dalis sugadino nuotaiką. "Paprastiems kaimo žmonėms" gimsta vaikas, ir žodžiai, žodžiai, ir sakiniai nesibaigiantys, ir puodas verda, ir vaikas papo ieško, o dabar iš kūdikio perspektyvos pažiūrėkime, o tėvas štai galvoja, kaip dukterį reikia parsiplukdyti, vat ir į to žmogaus pasaulį reikia įsijausti, ir į ano, ir grįžta ta "literatūra", kurios nebuvimas taip džiugiai nuteikė pirmoje dalyje.
March 14, 2024
Jaučiasi toks vienas. [...] jaučiasi toks vienui vienas. Ir jis visada liks toks vienas, pagalvoja ir priglaudžia galvą prie sesutės peties, o ši uždeda ranką jam ant pilvo. Jis visada bus vienišas, galvoja ir klausosi sesutės alsavimo, kaip ji įkvepia Ir iškvepia, kaip jos alsavimas vilnija it bangos, it žolės stiebeliai vėjyje, pirmyn ir atgal, viskas siūbuoja pirmyn atgal kaip bangos, vienišai kaip bangos.
*
Jaučiu, kad gyvenime, koks jis yra dabar, trūksta kažko labai svarbaus.
*
[...] bet jis niekada ir nesuprasdavo tų moterų, mat jos žino kažką, ko jis niekada nesupras, kažką, ko jos nepasakys ir tikriausiai negali pasakyti, nes tai neišsakoma žodžiais.
*
Jaučiu, kad gyvenime, koks jis yra dabar, trūksta kažko labai svarbaus.
*
[...] bet jis niekada ir nesuprasdavo tų moterų, mat jos žino kažką, ko jis niekada nesupras, kažką, ko jos nepasakys ir tikriausiai negali pasakyti, nes tai neišsakoma žodžiais.
November 12, 2023
141st book of 2023.
2.5. Really worth it for the short novella, And Then My Dog Will Come Back to Me, which is a feverish, running sentence like his Septology that feels in the vein of Crime and Punishment. The fragments or 'scenes' from childhood were mostly bad. For example,
That's it. Or,
That's also it. Fosse was apparently trying to capture childhood and its essence. I guess he was going for simplicity. It didn't pay off. It's only a three-star because of the novella.
2.5. Really worth it for the short novella, And Then My Dog Will Come Back to Me, which is a feverish, running sentence like his Septology that feels in the vein of Crime and Punishment. The fragments or 'scenes' from childhood were mostly bad. For example,
BICYCLE AND GUITAR CASE
Asle was riding around on the roads on his mother's old bicycle, he'd repainted it blue. He almost always had a guitar case in his hand. s he rode the bike his long hair fluttered behind him.
That's it. Or,
I ALWAYS AGREE WITH THOSE WHO DISAGREE
I understand that some of what matters, most is missing from our lives. So there needs to be a revolution.
That's also it. Fosse was apparently trying to capture childhood and its essence. I guess he was going for simplicity. It didn't pay off. It's only a three-star because of the novella.
May 19, 2018
Jon Fosse is one of Norway's leading writers, often cited as a Nobel Prize contender (if that prize is ever awarded again) and while perhaps best known as a playwright is prolific and praised across many mediums: poetry, children's books, novels and short stories.
Norwegian literature is perhaps, per capita, my favourite in the world, and Damion Searls, the translator of this book, who learned Norwegian to read Fosse in the original, set some of the greats in context in an article in The Paris Review:
The wonderful Fitzcarraldo Editions - Britain's finest publisher? - will present Fosse's latest work Septology in three volumes, starting in 2019, but in the meantime, Scenes from a Childhood is a good introduction to the writer's shorter works.
It consists of 5 pieces originally written between 1987 and 2013.
The first in this volume, Scenes from a Childhood (1994) perhaps seems the least typical. Fosse explained in an interview in 2017:
POTATOES AND ONIONS
I am sitting in the living room with my grandmother. Since she’s recently got a new radio, I sit and turn the dial from station to station, and on one of the stations there’s usually music you can’t hear anywhere else, slow music with long dark guitar solos, no singing, no big fuss, music that just is, and between these slow dark guitar solos someone speaks a language I don’t know, in any case it’s not English, I can understand a little English and it’s a language I don’t like.
I find the station where they play those long dark guitar solos, and I sit in front of the radio and listen. My grandmother, who I love, is sitting in the armchair where she usually sits, she’s looking out the window, I don’t know at what, but she’s sitting there looking out at the fjord, I think, anyway I always look at the fjord when I sit in that chair. I’m listening to the slow dark guitars. My grandmother sits looking out at the fjord.
Are you hungry? my grandmother asks.
I nod and my grandmother says that since it’s Saturday she can make what they used to make on Saturday evenings when she was little, then she goes to the kitchen. I listen to the slow black guitar music. I hear the fat start to sizzle in the frying pan. I lean against the kitchen door and see my grandmother standing in front of the kitchen sink chopping onions.
Bacon and eggs, potatoes and onions, my grandmother says.
I go back into the living room. I sit down in the chair in front of the window and look out at the fjord. I hear the sizzling from the frying pan and the slow guitars.
(from an excerpt at Asymptote Journal)
The prose here is relatively simple. The following, much shorter, piece How it Started (1987), while again a coming of age story, is less episodic and the prose more involved. And in the third, Dreamt on Stone (2013), the text is almost hypnotic, Krasznahorkaiesque (if I can be permitted a neologism):
Shards of stone, these stones too, small stones, shining in the grey fog. They shone weakly but they shone, and then the light gathered and I saw that I was lying on a sofa. I stood up. I went out a door. I shut a door behind me. I walked. I stood waiting for a bus. It was hard to stand. And then it fell apart again. I was lying on a sidewalk. I suddenly knew I was lying on a sidewalk. Somebody came running. He helped me up. I was standing. I tried to get on a bus but another man came running and said that I couldn’t go by bus, this was not a bus for someone like me, the man said. I asked if I couldn’t just sit down on the bus, but no, no, this wasn’t a bus for someone like me, he said. I asked the driver, it was a woman, and she smiled and shook her head. She said nothing, or maybe she said no. And then, I think it happened like this if I’m not misremembering, the man who had helped me to my feet came and took me to a car, a taxi. He put me in the taxi and I sat down and the driver and I drove off. The man driving said that he often thought about nothing, how nothingness is in everything. Nothingness is in everything, the taxi driver said.
(from an earlier translation Searl did for Granta)
And Then My Dog Will Come Back to Me (1991) is a 57-page novella telling in deliberately repetitive and breathless prose the first person account of a violent dispute between two neighbours, and, in contrast, the last Little Sister (2000) was originally published as a children’s book, a limited third-person narrative from the perspective of an overly adventurous 4 year-old boy.
Overall, the work was an interesting introduction to Jon Fosse, and one that has left me looking forward to his coming work, but this particular collection, rather like the title story, was perhaps too fragmentary.
3.5 stars
Norwegian literature is perhaps, per capita, my favourite in the world, and Damion Searls, the translator of this book, who learned Norwegian to read Fosse in the original, set some of the greats in context in an article in The Paris Review:
I think of the four elder statesmen of Norwegian letters as a bit like the Beatles: Per Petterson is the solid, always dependable Ringo; Dag Solstad is John, the experimentalist, the ideas man; Karl Ove Knausgård is Paul, the cute one; and Fosse is George, the quiet one, mystical, spiritual, probably the best craftsman of them all.That is a bit harsh on Per Petterson (and perhaps also on Ringo) and it did make me wonder who would represent The Rolling Stones: Lars Saabye Christensen, Jan Kjærstad, maybe Roy Jacobsen)
The wonderful Fitzcarraldo Editions - Britain's finest publisher? - will present Fosse's latest work Septology in three volumes, starting in 2019, but in the meantime, Scenes from a Childhood is a good introduction to the writer's shorter works.
It consists of 5 pieces originally written between 1987 and 2013.
The first in this volume, Scenes from a Childhood (1994) perhaps seems the least typical. Fosse explained in an interview in 2017:
In writing Scenes from a Childhood, my goal was to write about my own childhood, what actually happened. That turned out to be impossible for me. What I wrote was similar to my own experience in some ways, but not a single one of these pieces ended up being entirely accurate. I cannot help writing fiction.The resulting 57 page work consists of individual pieces mapping episodes from the narrator's childhood, for example:
I also decided that if the book were published, the texts would appear as written, without revising or reordering the pieces, or removing any of them.
POTATOES AND ONIONS
I am sitting in the living room with my grandmother. Since she’s recently got a new radio, I sit and turn the dial from station to station, and on one of the stations there’s usually music you can’t hear anywhere else, slow music with long dark guitar solos, no singing, no big fuss, music that just is, and between these slow dark guitar solos someone speaks a language I don’t know, in any case it’s not English, I can understand a little English and it’s a language I don’t like.
I find the station where they play those long dark guitar solos, and I sit in front of the radio and listen. My grandmother, who I love, is sitting in the armchair where she usually sits, she’s looking out the window, I don’t know at what, but she’s sitting there looking out at the fjord, I think, anyway I always look at the fjord when I sit in that chair. I’m listening to the slow dark guitars. My grandmother sits looking out at the fjord.
Are you hungry? my grandmother asks.
I nod and my grandmother says that since it’s Saturday she can make what they used to make on Saturday evenings when she was little, then she goes to the kitchen. I listen to the slow black guitar music. I hear the fat start to sizzle in the frying pan. I lean against the kitchen door and see my grandmother standing in front of the kitchen sink chopping onions.
Bacon and eggs, potatoes and onions, my grandmother says.
I go back into the living room. I sit down in the chair in front of the window and look out at the fjord. I hear the sizzling from the frying pan and the slow guitars.
(from an excerpt at Asymptote Journal)
The prose here is relatively simple. The following, much shorter, piece How it Started (1987), while again a coming of age story, is less episodic and the prose more involved. And in the third, Dreamt on Stone (2013), the text is almost hypnotic, Krasznahorkaiesque (if I can be permitted a neologism):
Shards of stone, these stones too, small stones, shining in the grey fog. They shone weakly but they shone, and then the light gathered and I saw that I was lying on a sofa. I stood up. I went out a door. I shut a door behind me. I walked. I stood waiting for a bus. It was hard to stand. And then it fell apart again. I was lying on a sidewalk. I suddenly knew I was lying on a sidewalk. Somebody came running. He helped me up. I was standing. I tried to get on a bus but another man came running and said that I couldn’t go by bus, this was not a bus for someone like me, the man said. I asked if I couldn’t just sit down on the bus, but no, no, this wasn’t a bus for someone like me, he said. I asked the driver, it was a woman, and she smiled and shook her head. She said nothing, or maybe she said no. And then, I think it happened like this if I’m not misremembering, the man who had helped me to my feet came and took me to a car, a taxi. He put me in the taxi and I sat down and the driver and I drove off. The man driving said that he often thought about nothing, how nothingness is in everything. Nothingness is in everything, the taxi driver said.
(from an earlier translation Searl did for Granta)
And Then My Dog Will Come Back to Me (1991) is a 57-page novella telling in deliberately repetitive and breathless prose the first person account of a violent dispute between two neighbours, and, in contrast, the last Little Sister (2000) was originally published as a children’s book, a limited third-person narrative from the perspective of an overly adventurous 4 year-old boy.
Overall, the work was an interesting introduction to Jon Fosse, and one that has left me looking forward to his coming work, but this particular collection, rather like the title story, was perhaps too fragmentary.
3.5 stars
March 18, 2024
2023-jų metų literatūros Nobelio nugalėtojo apsakymų ir apysakų rinkinys.
Kai kurie apsakymai/vaizdeliai priminė Lietuvos rašytojų M. Martinaičio biografinius užrašus, R. Lankausko istorines noveles. Štai ši pirmoji knygos pusė man labai tiko ir patiko. Parašyti apsakymai paprastu, bet ne prastu stiliumi, gal tik „Sesutėje“ ir "Taip viskas prasidėjo" man pritrūko mozaikos dalių.
O štai apysakoje „Rytas ir vakaras“ jau jaučiamas autoriaus modernesnis ateities stilius. Skaičiau jo garsiosios septologijos pirmąją knygą („The Other Name“), kuri man ir buvo labiausiai apie stilių.
Ir kad ir kaip man būtų įdomi „Ryto ir vakaro“ stilistika, bet mirimo/ kėlimosi iš vieno pasaulio į kitą tema man atrodo aprašyta iš pradžių visai žaviai, link pabaigos išsikvėpė ir pati pabaiga man buvo banaloka.
Kai kurie apsakymai/vaizdeliai priminė Lietuvos rašytojų M. Martinaičio biografinius užrašus, R. Lankausko istorines noveles. Štai ši pirmoji knygos pusė man labai tiko ir patiko. Parašyti apsakymai paprastu, bet ne prastu stiliumi, gal tik „Sesutėje“ ir "Taip viskas prasidėjo" man pritrūko mozaikos dalių.
O štai apysakoje „Rytas ir vakaras“ jau jaučiamas autoriaus modernesnis ateities stilius. Skaičiau jo garsiosios septologijos pirmąją knygą („The Other Name“), kuri man ir buvo labiausiai apie stilių.
Ir kad ir kaip man būtų įdomi „Ryto ir vakaro“ stilistika, bet mirimo/ kėlimosi iš vieno pasaulio į kitą tema man atrodo aprašyta iš pradžių visai žaviai, link pabaigos išsikvėpė ir pati pabaiga man buvo banaloka.
January 16, 2021
Man labai patinka istorijos, kuriose gali būti nepaminėtas nei vienas jausmą įvardinantis žodis, tačiau jį lengva pajausti iš visos atmosferos. Toks pasakojimo būdas šiek tiek primena dokumentiką, tačiau tik iš pažiūros atrodo, kad faktai čia svarbiausi:
Kirvis
Vieną dieną, kai jį aprėkia tėvas, jis nueina į malkinę ir paima ten didžiausią kirvį, atneša į svetainę, atremia į tėvo krėslą ir paprašo tėvo nusižudyti. Kaip ir galima tikėtis, tėvas įsiunta dar labiau.
Visgi čia knyga ne kiekvienam, nes atrodo, kad nėra jokios intrigos ir gal tada ir jokio tikslo, ir kam iš viso tą rašyti reikėjo. Tačiau leidus sau įsijausti ir susitapatinti, galima nukeliauti ir savo asmeninių istorijų keliais, nes Norvegijoj ar Lietuvoj, kaime ar mieste, mes visi buvom vaikai ir paaugliai su savo norais, baimėm ir jausmais.
Kirvis
Vieną dieną, kai jį aprėkia tėvas, jis nueina į malkinę ir paima ten didžiausią kirvį, atneša į svetainę, atremia į tėvo krėslą ir paprašo tėvo nusižudyti. Kaip ir galima tikėtis, tėvas įsiunta dar labiau.
Visgi čia knyga ne kiekvienam, nes atrodo, kad nėra jokios intrigos ir gal tada ir jokio tikslo, ir kam iš viso tą rašyti reikėjo. Tačiau leidus sau įsijausti ir susitapatinti, galima nukeliauti ir savo asmeninių istorijų keliais, nes Norvegijoj ar Lietuvoj, kaime ar mieste, mes visi buvom vaikai ir paaugliai su savo norais, baimėm ir jausmais.
June 3, 2018
These stories capture the disturbing aspects of love and childhood very precisely. The dog story in particular is fantastic; the character's odd state of mind is conveyed right from the beginning, with the seamless repetition and circularity being exceptionally effective. Every story is good, though, and Fosse obviously relives his life in each.
I have now resolved to learn Norwegian, because his work can only be better in the original.
I have now resolved to learn Norwegian, because his work can only be better in the original.
May 26, 2019
I think it says something about my reading experience that I put the book down when I had 10 pages left and only picked it up now some three months later in order to demolish the currently-reading pile that’s been staring at me all this time. Feeling good now. Oh right, the book. The short stories in Scenes from a Childhood demonstrate a variety of writing styles, from very short and simple pieces (chiefly in the “slice-of-life” tradition) to e.g. one in which a feverish paragraph goes on for nearly 20 pages. In general, Fosse’s sentences are really short and to the point with no subclauses whatsoever.
Ultimately nothing quite struck me, and there was an overall feeling of an author trying quite hard to emulate different kinds of prose styles established by other authors. I could obviously be wrong. I am willing to give Fosse (and his translator Damion Searls) another chance and look forward to his upcoming Septology, the first parts of which Fitzcarraldo will publish later this year.
Ultimately nothing quite struck me, and there was an overall feeling of an author trying quite hard to emulate different kinds of prose styles established by other authors. I could obviously be wrong. I am willing to give Fosse (and his translator Damion Searls) another chance and look forward to his upcoming Septology, the first parts of which Fitzcarraldo will publish later this year.
October 21, 2020
Idomi, tokia savotiska knyga, grynai skandinaviska. Nezinau ar del to, kad skaiciau su pertrauka ar kaip, bet pirmos dalies vargiai beatsimenu, nors patiko kazkiek, norejau deti vienoki ivertinima, bet paskutinis apsakymas viska istempe i aukstesni ivertinima.
May 2, 2021
Why not? he thinks, and he looks over at the tall grass, all the long blades of grass, green and pointy, and he walks over to the grass and the grass is taller than he is, maybe he should walk into the grass? he thinks, yes, he could do that, he thinks, and he steps between the first blades of grass and they hang over his head, green and pointy, and he walks further into the grass and in some places the grass is so high it towers far above his head, and then, when he's in the middle of it, he stops and looks through the blades and all he can see are blades of grass, nothing else, as far as his eyes can reach only blades of grass, green blades, and then he sits down and up above him the green grass waves back and forth, it's like he has a roof up there, a green roof over his head, he thinks, and he lies down and he lies there and he looks up at the sky; it is not a bright blue, it's a soft and yet dark blue, that's what it looks like, and far, far up above is a soft cloud, almost not even a cloud anymore, just a few wisps of cloud moving up above his head the whole time and divided into lots of parts by the blades of grass above his head, and the blades of grass move gently
(grassy transcription for Molly & Caleb)
August 27, 2023
baigiau šįryt ir tariausi garsiai, bus gera diena.
ką ten bus - jau.
nuostabus Rytas ir vakaras, vos blankesni (bet ne blankūs, viešpatie!) kiti apsakymai, gražūs trumpukai iš vaikystės.
tikrai, kažkas tarp mirties ir vaikystės, tai kas, kad kartojuos - kartočiau ir dar, rytą ir vakarą.
ką ten bus - jau.
nuostabus Rytas ir vakaras, vos blankesni (bet ne blankūs, viešpatie!) kiti apsakymai, gražūs trumpukai iš vaikystės.
tikrai, kažkas tarp mirties ir vaikystės, tai kas, kad kartojuos - kartočiau ir dar, rytą ir vakarą.
July 8, 2024
There’s a repetitive, absurdist spell to many of the stories in this book. Beckett’s plays (I still haven’t got to his novels) came to mind often. My favorite, and the longest, dealt with a man building up to killing a man and the eventual fallout of that - Fosse’s looping thoughts there felt so real, so delusional for health’s sake. I’m really glad to have read him - he’s so very unique - but I doubt I’ll read more.
August 30, 2024
A little under 4 stars, rounded up.
For some reason I do not know, going in I thought I was going to enjoy the first section (the titular "Scenes") more than the remaining slightly longer stories in the collection, but what actually stood out the most to me is the longest of them all, "And Then My Dog Will Come Back To Me" (arguably a novella). Got hit by that one quite severely and suddenly in fact. The rest are all fine with a unique simple sentence style, some better than others, but that story in particular elevates the collection and my rating. I'm super interested to see how his writing feels in Norwegian and how I perceive this style compared to English.
For some reason I do not know, going in I thought I was going to enjoy the first section (the titular "Scenes") more than the remaining slightly longer stories in the collection, but what actually stood out the most to me is the longest of them all, "And Then My Dog Will Come Back To Me" (arguably a novella). Got hit by that one quite severely and suddenly in fact. The rest are all fine with a unique simple sentence style, some better than others, but that story in particular elevates the collection and my rating. I'm super interested to see how his writing feels in Norwegian and how I perceive this style compared to English.
August 17, 2024
Primitive, stripped down, pastoral
above all, there is a certain sinister quality to the way Jon Fosse employs the device of repetition
favorites: How It Started, And Then My Dog Will Come Back to Me
above all, there is a certain sinister quality to the way Jon Fosse employs the device of repetition
favorites: How It Started, And Then My Dog Will Come Back to Me
April 28, 2023
Giving this one another shot!
Update. So glad I gave this one another shot. The micro fiction wasn’t the strongest of Fosse that I’ve read by any means, but I really enjoyed the rest of it. Some very touching and visceral stories.
Update. So glad I gave this one another shot. The micro fiction wasn’t the strongest of Fosse that I’ve read by any means, but I really enjoyed the rest of it. Some very touching and visceral stories.
December 30, 2019
Bom dia,
Jon Bon Fosse to opět dokázal. Myslím si, že už jsem připraven mít s ním homosexuální styk výměnou za nějaké nepublikované texty.
V této knize, stejně jako ve všech ostatních, valí svůj styl "tak já ti to teda zopakuju kámo," což rozehrává do dokonalosti v druhé části, povídce A pak se ke mě můj čokl vrátí. To vám literární rodino klidně přiznám, že jsem u toho kaděl nervama a radostí celou dobu. Asi nejlepší věc, co jsem kdy četl. Tak sugestivní a intenzivní věc jsem ještě nežral. Když nepočítám quritto z KFC, když jsou čtyři ráno a hvězdy jsou na nebi v klasickém rozestavení Jagger-meister.
První část jsou malé vzpomínky z dětství, kde opět po seversku kombinuje nicotné detaily s život měnícími momenty. Slušná valba. Poslední část, Malá sestra, byla asi nejslabší, ale stejně pořád 9/10. Tam se mohlo ještě trošku přidat a měnil bych plenky znovu.
10/10
Jon Bon Fosse to opět dokázal. Myslím si, že už jsem připraven mít s ním homosexuální styk výměnou za nějaké nepublikované texty.
V této knize, stejně jako ve všech ostatních, valí svůj styl "tak já ti to teda zopakuju kámo," což rozehrává do dokonalosti v druhé části, povídce A pak se ke mě můj čokl vrátí. To vám literární rodino klidně přiznám, že jsem u toho kaděl nervama a radostí celou dobu. Asi nejlepší věc, co jsem kdy četl. Tak sugestivní a intenzivní věc jsem ještě nežral. Když nepočítám quritto z KFC, když jsou čtyři ráno a hvězdy jsou na nebi v klasickém rozestavení Jagger-meister.
První část jsou malé vzpomínky z dětství, kde opět po seversku kombinuje nicotné detaily s život měnícími momenty. Slušná valba. Poslední část, Malá sestra, byla asi nejslabší, ale stejně pořád 9/10. Tam se mohlo ještě trošku přidat a měnil bych plenky znovu.
10/10
January 28, 2024
Do doja ta kisha lexuar Jon Fosse përpara se të merrte çmimin Nobel!
E vërtetë është që ka diçka shumë të veçantë në minimalizmin e prozës së tij - një ide a ndjesi që shpresoj mos të më induktohet nga vlerësimi i tij letrar. E vërtetë është gjithashtu që ndonjëherë pasazhet janë të zbrazëta dhe thuajse të mërzitshme. Sidoqoftë, ai ia del të mbetet në mendimet e mija disi, edhe pasi e kam mbyllur librin. Diçka prej historive të tij më oshëtin në vetëdije dhe më përkufizon ditën, më ndryshon sjelljen, më lehtëson qenien.
Do doja të shihja nga dritarja ime fjordet!
E vërtetë është që ka diçka shumë të veçantë në minimalizmin e prozës së tij - një ide a ndjesi që shpresoj mos të më induktohet nga vlerësimi i tij letrar. E vërtetë është gjithashtu që ndonjëherë pasazhet janë të zbrazëta dhe thuajse të mërzitshme. Sidoqoftë, ai ia del të mbetet në mendimet e mija disi, edhe pasi e kam mbyllur librin. Diçka prej historive të tij më oshëtin në vetëdije dhe më përkufizon ditën, më ndryshon sjelljen, më lehtëson qenien.
Do doja të shihja nga dritarja ime fjordet!
December 2, 2023
Skaitant paskutinę apysaką "Rytas ir vakaras" kambaryje tarsi susitiko visi išėjusieji. Ne visus spėta palydėti, ne visų išgedėta, bet skaitant pasakojimą taip gražiai vėrėsi mirties pasitikimas, jog tikrai pirmą kartą pagalvojau, kad mirtis ir anapusybė nėra tiesiog išnykimas.
Egzistencijos suvokimas tarp viržiais apaugusių kalnų ir vėjo talžomų fjordų. Kalbos pauzių ir teksto nutylėjimų iš autoriaus tik mokytis ir mokytis.
Vis pagalvoju kas nulėmė tą nepaprastai paprastą kasdienybę skandinavų literatūroje. Vos keliais sakiniais iš esmės sukratančią ir ašarą nubraukti verčiančią, o kitame lape jau juokingomis patirtimis užkrečiančią...
Egzistencijos suvokimas tarp viržiais apaugusių kalnų ir vėjo talžomų fjordų. Kalbos pauzių ir teksto nutylėjimų iš autoriaus tik mokytis ir mokytis.
Vis pagalvoju kas nulėmė tą nepaprastai paprastą kasdienybę skandinavų literatūroje. Vos keliais sakiniais iš esmės sukratančią ir ašarą nubraukti verčiančią, o kitame lape jau juokingomis patirtimis užkrečiančią...
December 17, 2023
Labai gera knyga,labai rami. Ir labai geras vertimas. Noriu turėt.
January 28, 2024
Why is his mother laughing so loud
Why are they all laughing?
Why is he so alone
Why are they all laughing?
Why is he so alone
December 19, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
December 12, 2020
“<...> Juhanesas lieka stovėti, žvelgia į krante pasilikusias kalvas, pievas, uolas ir namus, prieplauką, savo paties nedidelę irkluojamą valtelę, pririštą ir prie plūduro, ir virve prie prieplaukos, žvelgia į žvejų namelius, į namus, kylančius kalva aukštyn palei kelią, ir tai matant jį užplūsta toks visa apimantis jausmas, matant viržius, visa, kas jam taip pažįstama, kas yra jo vieta šiame pasaulyje, kas yra jo, visa tai - kalvos, žvejų nameliai, pakrantės akmenys - ir jį apima jausmas, kad daugiau viso šito nebepamatys, bet šis reginys amžiams išliks su juo, tai tapo jo esybės dalimi, tarsi garsas, taip, nelyg garsas jame pačiame, galvoja Juhanesas <...>”
Sunkiai vienareikšmiškai vertintinos istorijos ar vaizdai iš vaikystės, nes nelabai jau daug čia rastinų analogijų su savąją, ypatingai, jeigu esi miesto vaikas, vasaras iš pradžių savo noru, o paskui beveik prievarta, leidžiantis kaime, ir jokių ten ypatingų sąsajų su ryšių nei su žolėmis, nei su melsvu dangumi, nei su vandens telkiniais nejaučiantis. Ir tas mažo miestelio gyvenimas su kaimo šokiais ar vienintele veikiančia parduotuve nei jokių sentimentų ar nostalgijos tikrai nekelia.
Tačiau savotiškai viską keičia apysaka “Rytas ir vakaras”, kurioje susilieja kelios žmogaus gyvenimo realybės, įtraukiančios skaitytoją ir paleidžiančios tik su paskutiniuoju puslapiu bei paliekančios tokią giedrą melancholiją ir suvokimą, kad “netrukus žodžių nebeliks”.
Sunkiai vienareikšmiškai vertintinos istorijos ar vaizdai iš vaikystės, nes nelabai jau daug čia rastinų analogijų su savąją, ypatingai, jeigu esi miesto vaikas, vasaras iš pradžių savo noru, o paskui beveik prievarta, leidžiantis kaime, ir jokių ten ypatingų sąsajų su ryšių nei su žolėmis, nei su melsvu dangumi, nei su vandens telkiniais nejaučiantis. Ir tas mažo miestelio gyvenimas su kaimo šokiais ar vienintele veikiančia parduotuve nei jokių sentimentų ar nostalgijos tikrai nekelia.
Tačiau savotiškai viską keičia apysaka “Rytas ir vakaras”, kurioje susilieja kelios žmogaus gyvenimo realybės, įtraukiančios skaitytoją ir paleidžiančios tik su paskutiniuoju puslapiu bei paliekančios tokią giedrą melancholiją ir suvokimą, kad “netrukus žodžių nebeliks”.
February 15, 2022
An ode to growing up. It was probably what Fosse was going for in SCENES FROM A CHILDHOOD. Or was he? Is it a soliloquy instead? Can an ode be a soliloquy? Or can a soliloquy be an ode? Can something about growing up be either of those two? Isn't growing up too fragmented an experience to ever coalesce into a whole? Is growing up merely a transition from childhood to adulthood? At what point do we lose our "childhood"? Is it merely a numerical tenet, or, is it something else?
Traumatized after a tragedy, nothing about the world shocking or exciting one self the way it once used to, such a being usually remarked upon by their peers as "They have grown up too fast. They seem to wise for their age!"
In one fragment, Fosse talks about how once after failing to tune a guitar string, he plays the guitar with the remaining five strings. Isn't that what growing up is all about? Playing according to fate's tunes while gradually losing oneself and growing accustomed to the void.
In another, he talks about reading a book and not understanding parts of it, then buying a dictionary the next day to help understand what he couldn't. Again, doesn't that hit a bit too close to home as well? Trying to understand the world around us through the lens of someone else while our own subjective lens is decorated with a gossamer of cracks. Isn't that why we, in a way.....read and write?
The book is comprised of such fragments, each varying in length, some barely a paragraph long, some barely a page long and one almost spanning the length of a novella. But irrespective of length, each fragment has a lot to read between the lines and just like Fosse's landmark "SEPTOLOGY" series, the prose here speaks about volumes in a minimalist manner.
Traumatized after a tragedy, nothing about the world shocking or exciting one self the way it once used to, such a being usually remarked upon by their peers as "They have grown up too fast. They seem to wise for their age!"
In one fragment, Fosse talks about how once after failing to tune a guitar string, he plays the guitar with the remaining five strings. Isn't that what growing up is all about? Playing according to fate's tunes while gradually losing oneself and growing accustomed to the void.
In another, he talks about reading a book and not understanding parts of it, then buying a dictionary the next day to help understand what he couldn't. Again, doesn't that hit a bit too close to home as well? Trying to understand the world around us through the lens of someone else while our own subjective lens is decorated with a gossamer of cracks. Isn't that why we, in a way.....read and write?
The book is comprised of such fragments, each varying in length, some barely a paragraph long, some barely a page long and one almost spanning the length of a novella. But irrespective of length, each fragment has a lot to read between the lines and just like Fosse's landmark "SEPTOLOGY" series, the prose here speaks about volumes in a minimalist manner.
July 1, 2022
Prieš pradėdama skaityt, tikėjausi kažko nostalgiško ir galimai nelabai man artimo ar įtraukiančio, nes įvertinimai buvo gan įvairūs. Likau maloniai nustebinta, ypač paskutinė istorija (Rytas ir Vakaras) sugniaužė širdį. Autoriaus rašymo stilius taip pat patiko: tie kelis puslapius nesibaigiantys sakiniai (beveik stream of consciousnes, bet ir šiek tiek savičiau), besikartojančios veikėjų mintys (lyg iš tiesų būtum veikėjo galvoje ir iš šono stebėtum), gyvenimiškai kartais monotoniški, kartais spontaniški dialogai. Tačiau ir pilnai suprantu, kodėl skatytoją, kurio istorija nelabai įtraukė, tai gali varginti ir nervinti.
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