Norwegian Literature Month

As there are so many books by Norwegian authors I would like to read, I decided to dedicate the whole month of September to Norwegian literature only.

I like to have some kind of reading plan, so I’ve made a TBR list for September. This contains seven Norwegian books and is only ment as guidance. I have realized that I only read four, or maybe five, books a month, so we can all agree that all these seven will probably not be read. And two of them are trilogies, so that kind of makes this eleven books. Also, I have some other books laying around that I might read instead. But, as I said, I like to have som kind of plan, so here it is:

1. Svøm med dem som drukner by Lars Mytting. I actually won this in a contest about a year ago and it has just been waiting in my shelf for a chance to be read. I just started it today and so far I’m intrigued!
2. De urolige by Linn Ullman. I got this as a birthday present from my sister a couple of months ago and for that reason I feel it should be read soon. I don’t know much about it, other than that it is based on the life of the author, who is the daughter of the Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullman and the famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.
3. Melancholia by Jon Fosse. I found this at the marked I visited last weekend and bought it only because of a quote from a critic printed on the cover: «These two novels, Melancholia I and II, are one of the greatest reading experiences I have ever had». Also, I read another of Jon Fosse’s books earlier this year and I really liked it.
4. Den rettferdige by Helene Uri. I’ve read a couple of Uri’s books before, but that’s around 10 and 15 years ago. This one I have had in my shelf for some years, so I though it might be time to read it. I remember I really liked Uri’s writing, so I look forward to reading it.
5. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. I bought this at a flee marked last spring, twice actually, as I didn’t remember that I had all ready bought it the second time. This is one of the greatest classics of Norwegian literature and I feel I should have read it years ago. I really hope I will feel like reading it this month, even though it is a trilogy of almost 1.000 pages(!).
6. Pan by Knut Hamsun. Together with Mysteries and Hunger, Pan is one of the greatest works of Knut Hamsun. I read Mysteries earlier this year and I liked his writing. My boyfriend is a huge Hamsun fan and has recommended Pan for me a long time, so I hope I will read it this month.
7. The Alberte Trilogy by Cora Sandel. Cora Sandel is a Norwegian writer who I actually don’t know that much about, other than that I have heard of this trilogy, which was written in the 1920’s and 30’s.

I am really looking forward to this and I expect I will have a lot of good reading experiences after this month. As I said I just started Svøm med dem som drukner, and so far it’s really exciting. De urolige and Kristin Lavransdatter are also books I really hope I will have time to read. Though, I have my doubts about Kristin Lavransdatter, as it is so huge. But we’ll see!