Morning and Evening

Last updated
Morning and Evening
Jon-Fosse-Morgon-og-kveld.png
Cover of the first edition
Author Jon Fosse
Original titleMorgon og kveld
Translator Damion Searls
CountryNorway
LanguageNorwegian (Nynorsk)
Publisher Det Norske Samlaget
Publication date
2000
Published in English
1 September 2015
Pages115
ISBN 9788252156737

Morning and Evening (Nynorsk : Morgon og kveld) is a 2000 novella by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. It tells the story of a fisherman: the first part of the book is about his birth seen from the perspective of his father, and the second part is about his death, when he revisits important places and moments from his life. The book was published in English in 2015.

Contents

The book received the Melsom Prize. It was the basis for the 2015 opera Morgen und Abend with music by Georg Friedrich Haas. [1]

Reception

Critical response

Ole Karlsen of Dag og Tid noted how Fosse had moved on from his early works, where he merely described problems related to gaps between language and reality, to actively trying to heal the problems he identified. Karlsen wrote about Morning and Evening: "Fosse's repetitive writing style has perhaps an even more clear Biblical intention than in his last novel – and thus the text becomes charged with meaning. Yes, Fosse is rightly a poet, he can remind of Vesaas and is thus far on Vesaas' level." [2] Publishers Weekly wrote: "Indeed, the moments throughout the novel are simple, quotidian, yet Fosse's pared down, circuitous, and rhythmic prose skillfully guides readers through past and present. In this short, gripping novel, Fosse composes a hypnotic meditation on life and death." [3]

Accolades

The book received the 2001 Melsom Prize for best book written in Nynorsk. [4] It was nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize and the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

Jon Fosse

Jon Olav Fosse is a Norwegian author and dramatist.

Tarjei Vesaas

Tarjei Vesaas was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century and perhaps its most important since World War II.

Hans Herbjørnsrud Norwegian writer

Hans Herbjørnsrud is a Norwegian author of short stories. His works frequently play with the differences between Norwegian languages Bokmål and Nynorsk and the various Norwegian dialects. His stories' characters sometimes playfully mix and invent languages, sometimes become caught up in their linguistic games and start losing their identity.

Øystein Lønn is a Norwegian writer. He made his literary debut in 1966 with the short stories Prosesjonen, and followed up with the novel Kontinentene in 1967.

Brage Prize

The Brage Prize is a Norwegian literature prize that is awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation. The prize recognizes recently published Norwegian literature.

Guri Vesaas is a Norwegian writer and translator of children's books, and former editor at the publishing house Samlaget.

Edvard Hoem

Edvard Hoem is a Norwegian novelist, dramatist, lyricist, psalmist and government scholar. He made his literary debut in 1969, with the poetry collection Som grønne musikantar. He was awarded the Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature in 1974 for the novel Kjærleikens ferjereiser. He was awarded the Melsom Prize in 2006, and the Peter Dass Prize in 2007 for the novel Mors og fars historie. He received the Ibsen Prize in 2008 for the play Mikal Hetles siste ord.

Einar Økland

Einar Økland is a Norwegian poet, playwright, essayist and children's writer.

The Nynorsk Literature Prize is awarded annually by Noregs Mållag, Det Norske Teatret and Det Norske Samlaget for the best book in either Nynorsk or dialect. The award is presented for the best novel, poetry, novellas, or drama in the past year.

Nightsongs is a 1997 play by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. It tells the story of a young couple who just had their first child. The man tries to become a writer but is constantly rejected by publishers while the woman is growing tired of their situation. The play premiered in 1997 at Rogaland Teater in Stavanger, directed by Kai Johnsen.

Morgen und Abend is an opera by Georg Friedrich Haas to a libretto by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. It is based on Fosse's 2000 novel Morgon og kveld.

I Am the Wind is a 2007 play by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. It is about two men, The One and The Other, who travel by boat until The One commits suicide by drowning himself.

The Name is a 1995 play by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. It tells the story of a young couple, expecting a child, who move in with the woman's parents, with failures in communication as a consequence. The play premiered on 27 May 1995, directed by Kai Johnsen for Den Nationale Scene in Bergen, during the Bergen International Festival. A production by the German theatre company Schaubühne and the director Thomas Ostermeier was performed at the 2000 Salzburg Festival.

<i>The House in the Dark</i>

The House in the Dark is a 1945 novel by the Norwegian writer Tarjei Vesaas. It tells the story of a frightening, darkened house, to which men are trying to dig tunnels, but are routinely captured and taken away in a truck. The novel was written during the last winter of World War II and is an allegory for the German occupation of Norway. An English translation by Elizabeth Rokkan was published in 1976.

<i>Olavs Dreams</i>

Olav's Dreams is a 2012 novel by Norwegian writer Jon Fosse.

<i>Weariness</i> (novella)

Weariness is a 2014 novella by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse.

Inger Bråtveit is a Norwegian novelist and children's writer.

Melancholy, original title Melancholia I, is a 1995 novel by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. It is about the Norwegian painter Lars Hertervig (1830–1902) and his time as a young student in Düsseldorf, where he, agonised by unrequited love and doubt in his art, is driven toward a mental breakdown.

Melancholy II, original title Melancholia II, is a 1996 novella by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. It is set in 1902, on the day of the Norwegian artist Lars Hertervig's death, and is told from the perspective of Hertervig's fictitious sister Oline. The book is the sequel to Fosse's 1995 novel Melancholy, which is about Hertervig's time as a student.

Olav Vesaas Norwegian journalist

Olav Vesaas is a Norwegian journalist, biographer and publisher.

References

  1. "Morgen und Abend". Royal Opera House . Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  2. Karlsen, Ole (2000-08-21). "Meisterleg og gripande". Dag og Tid (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2016-01-09. Fosses repetetive skrivestil har kanskje eit enda tydelegare avsett i det bibelske enn i den førre romanen hans - også slik blir teksten ladd med meining. Jo, Fosse er retteleg diktar, han kan minne om Vesaas og er framleis i Vesaas-klasse.
  3. "Fiction Book Review: Morning and Evening by Jon Fosse". Publishers Weekly . 2015-07-27. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  4. "Fosse, Jon" (in Norwegian). NRK . Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  5. "Nominerede 1962-2015" (in Danish). Nordic Council . Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  6. "Årsrapport seksjon for litteratur 2001" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Critics' Association. 2002-02-18. Retrieved 2016-03-19.