Lars Saabye Christensen
Paperback | Pages: 696 pages Rating: 4.09 | 2956 Users | 169 Reviews
Declare Out Of Books The Half Brother
| Title | : | The Half Brother |
| Author | : | Lars Saabye Christensen |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 696 pages |
| Published | : | June 2nd 2005 by Arcade Publishing (first published 2001) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. European Literature. Scandinavian Literature |
Explanation As Books The Half Brother
Half-Brother by Lars Saabye ChristensenOne afternoon in January in the new year of 1946, the Old One’s sitting up on Blåsen, the highest part of Sten Park, looking out over the silent city It makes her feel at peace to sit there. This is her place. She can see the fjord lying gray and heavy beneath the cold fog piling over Ekeberg. The Christmas trees are on the balconies with the remains of decorations hanging from their dry, brown branches. The Old One is sorrowful and afraid. Vera has still not said a word, and she’s carrying a child she can no longer conceal. It’s an insanity that is driving them all quietly mad. Boletta lies awake at night and is losing weight, unable to forgive herself for letting Vera go alone to the drying loft
I recently traveled to Oslo on holiday — primarily visiting museums and conducting long walking tours of the city. I try to read the best of a country’s literature when I travel. So I consulted several top ten lists of the greatest Norwegian novels and I selected two to read: On Stealing Horses by Per Petersen and The Half Brother by Lars Christensen.
This novel is very reminiscent, early on, of a John Irving story. A Bildungsroman beginning on VE Day in 1945, it is set in Oslo and tells the story of our protagonist, Barnum, from his birth to middle age when he is an award winning playwright with a serious alcohol addiction. Barnum was named so because his father, Arnold Nilsen, was a charismatic flim-flam man from the circus.
The essential characters beyond Barnum’s father are Barnum’s maternal great-grandmother called The Old One, his maternal grandmother Boletta, his mother Vera and to a lesser degree his wife. The other essential character that makes up the title and theme of the book is the older half-brother, Fred who was conceived when Vera was raped by a German soldier on the final day of the war. As one might guess Fred is the black sheep of the family. He struggles with depression and foreshadows the two major events in the story.
When I was young we played with those metal tipped lawn darts which were dangerous enough to be removed from the U.S. market in 1988. In this novel, it’s the metal discus that figures prominently.
The character development in this novel is superb. I think The Old One was my favorite character. She is a witty woman who has a real knack for understanding human motives including those of the ethically challenged insurance man, Arnesen.
Overall this is a darkish story but Christensen periodically brightens the novel, with Irving-like humor. The title of the novel doubles as a metaphor — life is complicated and we are all half brothers entwined in the struggle.
I think the majority of the novel was absolutely masterful. The last portion felt a little melodramatic as the older Barnum, now a playwright, struggles with his alcoholism. To be fair, most really good coming-of-age stories and memoirs struggle with how to connect the middle aged to the past. I can think of a few like Angela’s Ashes that have done it better.
5 stars. The women steal the show in this novel in my opinion. Highly recommended. I read the English version translated by Kenneth Steven.
Itemize Books Toward The Half Brother
| Original Title: | Halvbroren |
| ISBN: | 1559707593 (ISBN13: 9781559707596) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Barnum Nilsen |
| Literary Awards: | Nordisk Raads Litteraturpris (Nordic Council Literature Prize) (2002), Brageprisen for Fiction (2001), P2-lytternes romanpris Nominee (2001) |
Rating Out Of Books The Half Brother
Ratings: 4.09 From 2956 Users | 169 ReviewsNotice Out Of Books The Half Brother
This is an astonishing and generally underrated novel set up in post World War II Oslo. Before the discovering of oil in the North Sea. Before Statoil came. Before Norway became a rich and wealthy country.The Half Brother may be considered the Norwegian answer to "The Tin Drum".Lars Saabye Christensen is masterful in narrating the growth of the two brothers Barnum and Fred (the last one meaning "peace" in Norwegian). The dislessical, pugnacious Fred is a marvellous negative character who takesA book is full of sensitivity describing. The story of a boy and his family. The events that occur sometimes sound exaggerated.The book is well written and full of emotion.I would shorten it a little because sometimes there is a feeling that the book has made too far with its descriptions, but I sank into it and read it within a few days, so I suppose its o.k.
I give it a 4 and 1/2 stars. I would like to give it 5 cause I really liked and enjoyed it but the last 3 or 4 chapters were not as good as I was expecting them. I was waiting to get some answers and I got nothing in the end. Kind of like Murakami, leaving you to wonder why or how things happened but I'm the type of person to like things answered. Also the translation in my language wasn't that good but that's another thing. Except for these, I fell hard for this book since the first chapter.
Really good, made me think about family relationships and stuff. I have been to Oslo and recognised the places. I liked Fred. Want to read more from this author now. Thanks
(view spoiler)[ Bettie's Books (hide spoiler)]
I really enjoyed this one. To me it was an intelligent The World According to Garp.A book of mysteries, men missing, strong women, brutal men, boxing, alcoholism, coincidences, bullying, black humour, film, books and people who have physical challenges (fat, short, disfigurement). It's a long book, with long paragraphs and with immense imagery. I'll miss the world that the author produced.Barnum the narrator, his con man father, his brooding brother, his loving mother, grandmother and the Old
I began this book on May 10, 2018, and finished it May 31, 2018. It was a long novel, but well worth every page.
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