Septology

"The year is coming to a close and Asle, an aging painter and widower, is reminiscing about his life. He lives alone, his only friends being his neighbor, sleik, a bachelor and traditional Norwegian fisherman-farmer, and Beyer, a gallerist who lives in Bjorgvin, a couple hours' drive south of Dylgja, where he lives. There, in Bjorgvin, lives another Asle, also a painter. He and the narrator are doppelgangers--two versions of the same person, two versions...

Asle is an aging painter and widower who lives alone on the west coast of Norway. His only friends are his neighbor, Åsleik, a traditional fisherman-farmer, and Beyer, a gallerist who lives in the city. There, in Bjørgvin, lives another Asle, also a painter but lonely and consumed by alcohol. Asle and Asle are doppelgängers—two versions of the same person, two versions of the same life. In this final installment of Jon Fosse’s Septology, “a...