A Quick Guide to Jon Fosse, who just won the Nobel Prize in Literature
My thoughts on the masterful Norwegian writer
I discovered Jon Fosse last year when I picked up a hardcover of his novel Septology, then a new release. The paperback is about to come out at the end of this month, along with his latest novel called A Shining. I had not heard of Jon Fosse before. Despite having been critically acclaimed abroad as a novelist and playwright, he remained an elusive figure in the United States, a fact that is all too common for writers outside the American market. It was by chance that I saw an Instagram post from Transit Books—an indie publisher based in San Francisco—that announced the release of the heavy tome, declaring it Fosse’s masterpiece. I don’t know what drew me to it, but I ordered myself a hardcover edition, which had a limited run, and read it a few months later at the start of 2023.
Since then, Fosse has become my new obsession. Septology—which is actually three separate novels in one—was a revelation I had not felt since first reading Roberto Bolaño (and anybody who knows me knows how much I love Bolaño). Fosse will not be for everyone. He repeats himself a lot. His sentences can go on forever. It can be argued that the entire Septology trilogy was one long sentence divided by only sections and paragraph breaks. But Fosse was definitely for me. His prose is unlike anything I’ve read before. The way he writes about faith, senescence, the passage of time, and the inevitability of endings is just *chef’s kiss*. Since discovering Septology, I have moved on to other works such as his novels Morning and Evening and Trilogy, and I continue to be in awe of Fosse’s skill with each work I delve into.
Then just this week, Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. An obscure writer for many in the U.S. is about to become a household name. Transit Books, which has published a number of Fosse’s works, is about to see a sharp increase in demand. I’m already seeing it as a bookseller, whereas his books that were initially difficult to bring in are now automatically on order. As readers in the States wish to familiarize themselves with Jon Fosse, I thought it’d be a good idea to share some recommendations for anyone looking to get started.
*This guide/ post contains links to Fosse’s books through my Bookshop page. As an affiliate, any purchases made through those links will earn me a commission, which helps me stay financially afloat to work on more projects. Thank you for supporting me and my writing journey.*
Septology (The Other Name; I is Another; A New Name)
Oddly enough, I started with the big one.
As mentioned above, Septology is actually three novels in one: The Other Name, I is Another, and A New Name. Altogether, however, the story is divided into seven sections, thus the title Septology. This is currently considered Fosse’s magnum opus, one that stands as a whole at about 700 pages. Transit Books first published the story separately in accordance with the three novels, and then later together in a hardcover edition. The novel is available as both a complete volume and in the original three separate titles.
I read it in the special complete hardcover edition, which immersed me into the story a little better. The novel—or three—is about two men both named Asle, both of them painters, both of them widowed, both living alone, and both of them aging. Despite the similarities, they live under different circumstances as we follow one of them as the protagonist while the other acts more as a foil. Fosse does this a lot in his work—he often, like Márquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude, gives his characters the same names, if not closely similar ones, to illustrate the themes of parallel lives and diverging life choices. In this case, our protagonist Asle is a painter who is slowly giving up painting while the other Asle can no longer paint because he has fallen deep into alcoholism. Other characters in the book also share similar names. The protagonist Asle’s widow’s name is Alses and his neighbor’s name—and arguably best friend—is Asleik. None of this is a coincidence. As mentioned, the point is to illustrate the different lives one person can have through fate, choices, and circumstances. The protagonist Asle could have been the other alcoholic Asle, if not for his neighbor Asleik with the simple fisherman lifestyle. In contrast to Márquez’s magnum opus, characters don’t share names because they share each other’s fates. They only share names and nothing else.
In terms of the novel’s plot, there really isn’t one. We follow the main Asle as he reminisces on his past and reckons with the solitude of his present. He is aware that he is old and tired—he’s tired of painting for a living and is considering giving it all up. We often slip into his memories as he recounts his meeting and marriage with his life, his artistic career, his childhood with his gone-too-soon sister, etc. The weaving of these events gives the reader a sense that the end is coming. Asle only sees his neighbor Asleik at this point, who tries his best to be there for Asle. Eventually, he gets a dog (though how and why it happens is a spoiler), and every section ends with him reciting a prayer. It is a story that deals heavily with the end of one’s life. But where a lot of literature may find it tragic, there’s a spiritual nature to it here. Yes, Asle’s life could be ending soon. And while there is a sense of sadness to it, there’s also a sense of freedom. It was a life of ups and downs. Nothing more can be done at this point. There’s always a sadness with death. But it also comes with a freedom never known when alive.
The true strength of the novel is the style of its prose. It is hypnotic, and that is putting it very modestly. The present action, the past, the dialogue, internal thoughts—it is all woven in seamlessly. In the same sentence, we can have all of it all at once. The prose is also littered with repetition, especially when it comes to dialogue. Characters often say the same thing over and over again, even in the same conversations and scenes. But there is poetry in it. Fosse, also a playwright, is a master of dialogue, and characters repeat themselves because they struggle to get a point across. It’s almost as if they are trying to say something else entirely. Their repetitions prove that their language is failing them. There’s just something that cannot be said, no matter how hard they try.
So given everything I just mentioned about Septology, is this a good place for someone wanting to know Fosse to start? I mean, I know I started here. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Septology is Fosse’s longest work thus far—at about 700 pages, it can easily feel daunting for a new reader. And though one can start by reading the first novel The Other Name, I really do think this is a book that has to be experienced as a whole. If I were to recommend Fosse, I would recommend Septology eventually. But I wouldn’t have them start with it.
Which leads me to two other—and much shorter—novels…
Morning and Evening
This is probably the best place to start with Jon Fosse.
Morning and Evening is a short novel—arguably a novella—that stands at about 100 pages. It is divided into two parts, the first about the birth of the main character Johannes, and the second about Johannes’s last day on earth. Part 1 is extremely short in comparison to part 2, where the majority of the plot takes place and we follow Johannes through what is seemingly just another day until he encounters an old friend who he remembers had passed away. Though he questions his friend’s being there, Johannes plays along and spends the day with his friend, and the reader slowly comes to realize that something is going on with Johannes.
The novella shares a lot of the themes that Septology does. Johannes, like Asle (and the other Asle), is an old man living alone with only his daughter occasionally visiting him. He is aware that he doesn’t have much time left, and he reflects on the people he’s known and lost along his journey. The loneliness in aging is a powerful theme in both novels. But in a short 100 pages, Fosse manages to bring it across just as well here as he did in his longer work.
There isn’t much else you can say about Morning and Evening without delving into spoilers. It’s a novel that made me cry almost immediately but also left me with a feeling of the divine. Fosse is a master of transcending the personal into the universal. Thanks to its length and similar themes, this is a much better place to start getting to know Jon Fosse.
Trilogy
Out of the three novels I’ve read, this one is—in my opinion—an outlier.
Similar to Septology, Trilogy is in reality three novellas in one: Wakefulness, Olav’s Dreams, and Weariness. The three sections were written at different times in Fosse’s career, the first in 2007 and the other two later in 2012 and 2014 respectively when Fosse wanted to revisit the story. As a whole, the novel won the Nordic Council’s Prize in Literature in 2015.
As another of his shorter works, this novel is more accessible than Septology and a good place to start alongside Morning and Evening. But the difference here is that the style of Fosse’s prose somewhat excused the former two of a proper plot. Trilogy has both—plot and style. It follows two youths, Asle (again that name) and Alida, who run away from home and are walking in the rain through the streets of Bergen. They are homeless and are unable to find shelter from the rain. In part one, Asle turns to violence to help them escape their hometown, get them a boat to sail to Bergen, and find them shelter in the city. Parts 2 and 3 continue where part 1 leaves off as the two of them face the consequences of Asle’s actions, leading their lives toward tragedy. It is a story of youthful idealism, lost dreams, homelessness, and crime.
Whereas the former two titles were more spiritual and philosophical, Trilogy had a clearer sense of tragedy. There is no happy ending here. Our two protagonists are haunted by their circumstances and inability to escape. It makes for a more exciting story than the first two titles—the second part of Trilogy had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. I felt a sense of calm and peace from the other books, and Trilogy flipped that coin violently.
This is another good place to start with reading Jon Fosse. It is a different sort of work from the other two. But it is easily accessible, a little more thrilling, and shares Fosse’s style in prose. Just be ready to cry for a different reason entirely.
An Angel Walks Through the Stage and Other Essays
In the interest of full transparency, I have not finished An Angel Walks Through the Stage and Other Essays. I thought I should include it anyway.
But from what I understand, Fosse has a unique relationship to theory and non-fiction: he gave it up. He only published two books of non-fiction before deciding to focus on writing fiction. He had a similar experience with playwriting, where he had become incredibly well-known for it and he feared he couldn’t write fiction anymore. But as we see from the previously mentioned works above, Fosse had nothing to worry about.
Still, as the only collection of essays of Fosse’s in English, this slim book standing at about 120 pages is another avenue to know his work. It includes personal stories, literary theory, thoughts on theater, and a speech at the end. It’s not where I started with Fosse—it’s also not as exciting as his fiction, personally—but the essays are there for anyone wanting to know how his mind works.
Jon Fosse’s Plays
And then we get to Jon Fosse’s plays.
For the record, I have not read through Fosse’s plays yet. So it’s difficult for me to say which to start with. That said, part of Fosse’s international renown is through being a dramatist. When I first decided to delve further into Fosse, I was shocked to discover that a lot of his plays were already available in English, all of them published through Oberon Books.
I have only skimmed through a few pages of his plays and—from what I gather—the plays are incredibly minimalist. The dialogue is as repetitive in Fosse’s theater as it is in his novels. But if it’s anything like his novels, the characters must be struggling to say the unsayable—I can only imagine the effect this gives off live on stage. Fosse has been compared to Beckett. That should say something about what we can expect from a master dramatist.
His Other Works
Of course, we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to Jon Fosse.
That said, there isn’t much else of his available in English. He has a short story collection called Scenes From a Childhood and another short novella called Aliss at the Fire. There’s also a new novel coming out at the end of the month named A Shining. As demand for Fosse’s work increases, so will the availability and translations for more of his writing.
I’m personally excited for it. Reading Jon Fosse’s work has been a revelation of what literature is still capable of, and I’m happy that more people will start to recognize Fosse for it. And for anyone looking to see where to start, I hope this guide helps.
*For those interested, I have compiled a list of Jon Fosse’s work currently available in English on my Bookshop page, which you can find here. As an affiliate, I will earn a commission with every purchase from my page, which will help me stay financially afloat to focus on more projects. Thank you for supporting me and my writing journey.*