no subject

Well, that's a huge relief.

2007 books

12) Knut Hamsun, Dreamers, 1904
A mild comedy of manners set in a Norwegian fishing village at the turn of the 20th Century, centred around the errant escapades of Ove Rolandsen, the local, genial, all-round reprobate. All the characters are to a degree trapped in their situations and hoping for something better, and it takes the unlikely ingenuity and improvisations of Rolandsen, simply by living out his own complex inner nature, for things to turn out right for everyone in the end. Hamsun was gently poking fun at all his characters but was also noticeably sympathetic towards them, a trait which separated his more aggressive earlier books from later novels such as this one. A very likeable story indeed.

2007 books

13) Jens Christian Grøndahl, Virginia, 2000
In occupied Denmark in 1942 a downed English RAF pilot is hiding from the Germans on a remote beach, and Virginia, a teenage girl, is secretly looking after him. But the narrator, at the time a smitten and slightly jealous teenage boy, betrays the pilot in a moment that will haunt him and the girl for the rest of their lives, right up to the present day. This excellent story is about the often dangerous intricacies of negotiated relationships, either long-standing or fleeting. The writing is full of lucidity and clarity, great characterisation and a superb ending: whether capturing early innocence or the weary maturity of advanced years, Grøndahl somehow nails it perfectly. He may be one of Europe's most widely read authors but for me both Virginia and Grøndahl are very welcome discoveries.

January 2007: 10 best photos

lest we...
First World War Memorial, St. Martin's Place, Sydney, NSW   (22 JANUARY)

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