Torborg Nedreaas (1906–1987)

Bergen, a comienzos del siglo XX. Cuando el verano llega a su fin, Herdis, una niña de unos diez años, asiste al final del que hasta entonces había sido su mundo: sus padres se divorcian al tiempo que estalla la Primera Guerra Mundial. Los ecos del conflicto llegan a sus oídos a través de las conversaciones de los adultos: miedo, avaricia, resentimiento social, y pronto, en Rusia, una revolución… Enfrentada al estruendo del mundo adulto, cruel y lleno de mentiras y pretensiones, Herdis, soñadora y solitaria, se resguarda en la penumbra y busca su propia música. La naturaleza fulgurante, una melodía que surge de los elementos más inesperados, un libro en blanco para escribir sus poemas y su nueva bicicleta serán su única compañía auténtica. Con una sabiduría llena de delicadeza y una precisión cautivadora, Torborg Nedreaas nos ofrece una prodigiosa sinfonía, poética y reveladora. Al ritmo de los diversos movimientos —andantes, scherzos, adagios: Nedreaas los conoce bien, ya que esta novela es en gran medida autobiográfica— ocurren muchas cosas y ninguna. Pues en este libro, como escribió Walt Whitman, «lo palpable está en su sitio / y lo impalpable también»: todo lo que el corazón de Herdis, su voz o sus manos no alcanzan a expresar lo harán sus sentidos, excepcionalmente abiertos a la armonía de la naturaleza, que le procura un júbilo casi insoportable. Sin duda, a lo extraordinario le agrada la soledad.

Y, sin embargo, esta novela está poblada de personajes inolvidables, retratados de manera soberbia, siempre con un toque de humor que consigue que nos parezcan muy vivos y entrañables: la carismática abuela paterna Hauge, la encantadora tía Rakel, el impositivo abuelo materno, o Elias Rachlev, el amante padrastro de Herdis, que la hace reír con sus imitaciones de los soldados alemanes… Todos ellos trascienden la esfera íntima de la pequeña, y componen un retrato coral único de la sociedad noruega de principios de siglo.… (mehr)

Fortellingen går over en natt som fortellingstid mens handlingen bare peker bakover, i retrospeksjon. En kvinne treffer en mann, blir med ham hjem og sitter oppe hele natten og forteller sitt liv. Hennes oppvekst skjer i gruveby i fattigdom der hun som ung jente forelsker seg i læreren og naturligvis må forholdet holdes skjult, han finner en annen - apotekerdatteren. Hovedpersonen blir gravid, tar abort, men vender alltid hun tilbake til Johannes om enn via andre forhold, via et ekteskap og via aborter. Hennes lengsler, oppgjør med seg selv, to steg fram og tre tilbake med iakttagelser av ekteskapet, kjærlighetene, fattigdommen, status, det å føde barn, det å være fagorganisert, det å streike,… (mehr)

This is a short but unrelentingly bleak book. I have to say that it was a bit hard to take and took much longer than would be expected to read it. However, this may be because I was reading it alongside some other depressing books. The framing narrative is annoying and sometimes the translation is awkward. The story has the potential to be didactic – possibly too blatantly feminist in the story of a woman who has a relationship with a former teacher and is shunned and scorned while he marries another woman and retains his respectable standing. However, none of the characters are all good or bad and every option leads to some sort of misery. Other social issues are broached but there are no solutions. Well, maybe suicide.

The narrator meets a woman on the street and she tells him her story. This device really did seem unnecessary especially as there are frequent interruptions. The woman describes her unhappy and poor family – her drunken but occasionally loving father, her bitter and self-sacrificing mother and her sister, who convinces the father of her child to marry her with unhappy results. The narrator has an affair with Johannes, her former teacher, which at first is wildly happy but soon turns sour. She’s always going back to him though and thinks occasional bursts of affection or interest mean he wants an actual relationship. They are on and off for the whole book but she has to endure the gossip and judgment of the townspeople as well as the grinding poverty while he is much better off. Still, Johannes’ marriage is also conflicted. At times, the narrator addresses abortion (another means to make women disposable in her view), labor issues (strikes lead to nothing but misery) and conventional morality (just more hypocrisy). She meets a kindred spirit in the church organ player but he also has a checkered past. Otherwise, all her relationships are horribly unhappy. There’s enough in here to make it worth reading but it’s quite unpleasant.… (mehr)

An overwhelmingly vivid exploration of a young mind. Nedreeas dive into well-known themes in this novel; through a nuanced depiction of the "innocent" childhood, with the boundless irrationality and lively imagination it engender, she deals with universal themes such as acceptance and growth. The protagonist, Herdis, is a colourful being, and we get a great insight into both her physical and mental state. The novel radiate a distinct freshness and vitality when it focus exclusively on Herdis' mental universe, giving the reader a clear - but at the same time enigmatical - sense of her (often ambiguous) actions and thoughts. Heartfelt and sensitive.… (mehr)