Trilogy
Dalkey Archive Press, 2022
175 p.
ISBN: 978-1-62897-390-7
In 2023 the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Jon Olav Fosse, a Norwegian author, translator, and playwright little known in Spain. He was praised by the Swedish Academy “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.”
On February, 12th Donostia Book Club is going to comment on one of Fosse’s books, Trilogy. The original title of the novel is due to the fact that the book encompasses three connected compact novellas, “Wakefulness”, “Olav’s Dreams”, and “Weariness” that tell us a love story of a young couple, Asle and Alida.
The entire story is written in a simple and direct style, the prose is full of repetitions and has an incredibly poetic feel. Simple dialogous, almost no punctuation (brings to mind The Colour of Milk by Nell Leyshon), the whole manner of telling the story gives it some king of timeless quality. With that unusual and unique storytelling Fosse traps the reader between the pages of something that feels at the same time universal and epic.
The story stretches over generations and dwells on subjects like death, parent-child relationship, intimacy, the cruelty of people in power. In case you want to get to know the latest Nobel Prize in Literature and ponder some of the aspects of the book, we leave you with these questions:
- Would you call Asle and Aida starcrossed lovers? Why/why not?
- The book weaves a rich web of historical, cultural, and theological
allusions and references. Have you noticed them? How have they
influenced your understanding of the story?
- How does the lack of punctuation affect the reception of the story?
How did it contribute to the overall atmosphere of the novellas?
- Does a bad act committed without conscience make the person
who commits it a bad person?
- How are the three novellas interconnected? Identify and discuss
the major themes explored in each novella. Are there common
threads that tie the stories together?
- Explore the use of symbolism in the novellas. Are there recurring
symbols or motifs that add depth to the narrative?
- How does the setting contribute to the mood and tone of each
novella? Do you feel that the author effectively transports readers
into the different worlds he creates?
- Which scenes or moments had the most emotional impact on you?
How did the author convey emotions through the narrative?
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