Dreamers FROM THE PUBLISHER
The midnight sun illumines more than fishing and fjords in this remote, northern Norwegian village. In fact, half-baked schemes and hilarity abound. Big Ove Rolandsen, telegraph operator, mad scientist, and local Casanova, trades wits, fists, and kisses with a host of quirky neighbors. He serenades the curate's wife and fights a drunken giant, but taking on Trader Mack, the town's fish-glue magnate, is a more difficult matter. Knut Hamsun, author of the acclaimed "Hunger" and winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize for Literature, renders the dreams and dramas of these townsfolk.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Previously unpublished in this country, this short novel by Hamsun, who won the Nobel Prize in 1920, shows a lighter side of a writer best known for his more nihilistic work. Set in an isolated Norwegian fishing village, the novel is a romantic comedy of sorts, centering on Ove Rolandsen, an antiheroic and often inebriated aspiring inventor. Rolandsen is a schemer, a liar and a not particularly effective womanizer. He bears a distinct resemblance to the protagonists of better-known Hamsun novels such as Hunger and Mysteries. Rolandsen is engaged to the local parson's housekeeper, yet he has eyes for both the local sexton's daughter and for the daughter of Trader Mack, the town's most prosperous businessman. Rolandsen has invented a new process for manufacturing fish-glue, the commodity which is the main source of Trader Mack's wealth; yet Rolandsen, who works as a telegraph operator, lacks sufficient funds to get his invention out into the world. Hamsun handles his plot with a light and assured touch, and the novel is considerably more charming than its location and subject matter might imply. But the book's ambition is disappointingly minor compared to what Hamsun was capable of in his best works, and Geddes's rather stiff translation fails to bring across the liveliness with which Hamsun's prose has been rendered by more assured hands. (May)
Library Journal
Written in the 1920s, this was the Nobel prize-winning author's humorous tale of Ove Rolandsen, denizen of a small Norwegian fishing village. Rolandsen's adventures include romancing the curate's wife, fighting a giant, and opposing the town's fish-glue magnate.
Booknews
A work biography of the famous abstract expressionist whose canvasses articulate many of the ideas and feelings of modern art, particularly the New York school. Ashton avoids gossip and concentrates on influences, the poets, philosophers, world events, and other artists who helped shape Rothko's imagery. She uses interviews, Rothko's own writing, and her conversations with the artist to portray the complexity of his genius and the scope of an artist's working life. This vital companion to Rothko's work includes, alas, only a few color and black and white reproductions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Home
