Fra fam. Ottar

This book took me a long time to get through. It starts slow and is based on legends from a remote, mountainous region of Norway. Central to the story is a medieval stave church with a pair of oversized bells dedicated to the memory of sisters who were conjoined twins. They made their living weaving. In the 19th century one of their descendants with the same name as the mother, Astrid, of the conjoined sisters becomes the main feature of the story. She is the eldest daughter of a farm family, has had a little bit of education and longs for a life beyond her current station.

At first she is attracted to the new priest in the village, and he becomes enamored with her as she helps him to understand the people of the parish and their ways. This new pastor is determined to tear down the old stave church and replace it with a more modern building.

At an art school in Dresden, a student is selected to go to the village and oversee the dismantling of the stave church in order to bring it and the famous sister bells to Dresden as a museum piece for the queen.

When the German architecture student arrives, Astrid is drawn to him and a love triangle is formed.

Astrid uses as many ploys as she can to ensure that the sister bells remain in the village. But the three of them are outsmarted by the gentry from Dresden who arrive as the removal of the stave church begins.

It's a story about longing for elevation beyond one's station in life. And is filled with folklore, superstition, and the effects of the past upon the present.

It's the first of a trilogy. I'm not sure if I will continue if they are all 400+ pages. ( )

Lars Mytting’s The Bell in the Lake, is the first instalment in a projected trilogy, now available in an English translation by Deborah Dawkin. The novel opens in 1880 in the Norwegian village of Butangen, where young and ambitious Kai Schweigaard has just been appointed pastor. Butangen is described as being “twenty years behind its neighbouring villages, which were thirty years behind Norway’s towns and cities, which were fifty years behind the rest of Europe”. Butangen’s richest possession is an 700-year old wooden stave church, decorated with motifs which harken back to pagan beliefs. Schweigaard knows that the church is uncomfortable and cold, and no longer meets the needs of his parishioners. He plans to build a new church replacing the old. It helps that there are Germans interested in medieval history who are keen on buying the old stave church and relocating it to Dresden.

Astrid Hekne, daughter of a once-distinguished farming family, is resistant to the project. The two bells in the church tower were paid for and forged by Astrid’s ancestor three centuries before, in memory of conjoined twins Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne, and their mother who died in childbirth. The bells are reputed to be magical, ringing of their own accord whenever some calamity threatens the community. As Astrid tries to save the bells and keep them in Butangen, she is also drawn into a love-triangle between Pastor Schweigaard and Gerhard Schönauer, the young German artist and architect tasked with overseeing the relocation project.

The Bell in the Lake is quite old-fashioned in its narrative style. Which is no bad thing. Mytting tells a story about the trials and tribulations of a small farming village but manages to turn it into an epic tale, with larger-than life characters torn by violent emotions. There is also, throughout, a strong element of magic. The villagers are portrayed as still believing in superstitions of old, but it is suggested that there is certainly some truth to their beliefs. The novel remains rooted in realism, but the supernatural elements give it a mythical twist and suggest a more timeless metaphysical backdrop to the personal stories of the characters. There’s almost a hint of Thomas Hardy in the portrayal of the hardy villagers whose domestic joys or (more often than not) tragedies bear the weight of history and play out against the timeless cycle of seasons. The vernacular of the villagers is difficult to translate into English, but Deborah Dawkin does a good job of conveying this through the creation of an archaic-sounding dialect which is used when they speak.

In the concluding Author’s Note, Mytting refers to legends narrated in the areas around Vekkom, Tromsnes, Brekkom and Dovre, which served as the inspiration for the tale of the sisters and the church bells. The relocation of the stave church is also rooted in reality – in 1842, such a church was, in fact dismantled and rebuilt in a part of Poland which was then under Prussian rule. The novel has, in fact, an aura of authenticity which adds to its enjoyment.

Despite being the first instalment of a trilogy, The Bell in the Lake may be enjoyed as a standalone novel because it gives adequate closure, whilst leaving enough loose ends to justify a sequel. I understand that the second volume has already been published in Norwegian, with plans for an English translation to follow. It finds in yours truly, an eagerly awaiting reader.

For the full review, including a playlist of Norwegian music go to

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-bell-in-the-lake-by-Lars-Mytting.... ( )

1880 Butangen Norway. After one of his parishioners froze to death during a church service, young city-bred pastor Kai Schweigaard agreed to finance a snug new church by selling the 700 year old stave church with its pagan carvings and wonderful bells to a group of investors. The investors wanted to carefully dismantle the church and then reassemble it in a city where it coulc be preserved and admired.

But the church seemed to be a living part of the community. Astrid’s forefathers in the 16th century had the bells created in memory of conjoined twins Halfrid and Gunhild and their mother who died in childbirth. The bells are said to have magical powers to protect the small town. Many of the townspeople, including Astrid, are highly skeptical of having the town’s iconic church so removed. But then architect Gerhard Schonauer arrived from Dresden to oversee the project and Astrid is captured by a type of man she has never seen before and his description of a lifestyle that is completely different than the local farming community she’s known.

To complicate the matter further, the young pastor also admires Astrid and contemplates abandoning his fiancé and promising future to stay in the small community if only Astrid would join him.

Wonderful historical fiction. I did not know about stave churches and their oft combined Nordic and Christian symbols. I really enjoyed Astrid’s character and the bit of old magic in the air. In checking character names for this review, I see this may be the first of a trilogy. It works well as a stand alone, but when the next one comes out, I will certainly read it. ( )

La vita è dura in Norvegia, il freddo invernale lascia poco scampo e la povertà dilaga. Le tradizioni sono dure a morire, ma devono necessariamente morire?
Un romanzo dolce amaro sulla vita, l'arte, le tradizioni, i cambiamenti, le difficoltà di farsi accettare in un tessuto sociale molto chiuso, la necessità di migliorare per ottenere cambiamenti e risultati.
Al solito molto ben scritto, Lars Mytting ci tiene in sospeso fino alla fine e ci descrive una Norvegia che non conosciamo e una Desdra che è stata distrutta ma rivive sotto la sua magica penna.
Scrive che sarà una trilogia e attendo con piacere il seguito, nel frattempo leggerò Norwegian Wood, che sembra non essere il trattato sul legno che mi ero immaginata. ( )