Norwegian Literature

Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

Magic and myth inhabit these chapters in figures both familiar and strange. Giant trolls and talking animals are everywhere. The winds take human form. A one-eyed old woman might seem reminiscent of the Norse god Odin. We meet sly aunts, resourceful princesses, and devious robbers. These stories, set in Norway's majestic landscape of towering mountains and dense forests, are filled with humor, mischief, and sometimes surprisingly cruel twists of fate. All are rendered in the deceptively simple narrative style perfected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.

Born on the Norwegian island that bears her name, Ingrid Barrøy’s world is circumscribed by storm-scoured rocks and the moods of the sea by which her family lives and dies. But her father dreams of building a quay that will end their isolation, and her mother longs for the island of her youth, and the country faces its own sea change: the advent of a modern world, and all its unpredictability and violence.

It's a normal night in August. Literature professor Arne and artist Tove are with their children at the resort in Sørlandet. Their friend, Egil, a driver by day, is staying in a cabin nearby. Kathrine, a priest, is on her way home from a seminar; the journalist Jostein is out on the town; and his wife, Turid, who is an assistant nurse, has a night shift. Above them all, a huge star suddenly appears in the sky. No one, not even the astronomers, knows for sure what kind of phenomenon it is.

In 1986, twenty-year-old Syvert Løyning returns from the military to his mother’s home in southern Norway. One evening, his dead father comes to him in a dream. Realizing that he doesn’t really know who his father was, Syvert begins to investigate his life and finds clues pointing to the Soviet Union. What he learns changes his past and undermines the entire notion of who he is. But when his mother becomes ill, and he must care for his little brother, Joar, on his own, he no longer has time or space for lofty speculations.

My Struggle introduces American listeners to the audacious, addictive, and profoundly surprising international literary sensation that is the provocative and brilliant six-volume autobiographical novel by Karl Ove Knausgaard. It has already been anointed a Proustian masterpiece and is the rare work of dazzling literary originality that is intense and irresistible to hear. Unafraid of the big issues - death, love, art, fear - and yet committed to the intimate details of life as it is lived, My Struggle is an essential work of contemporary literature.

Sheldon Horowitz - 82 years old, impatient, and unreasonable - is staying with his granddaughter's family in Norway when he disappears with a stranger's child. Sheldon is an ex-Marine, and he feels responsible for his son's death in Vietnam. Recently widowed and bereft, he talks to the ghosts of his past constantly. To Norway's cops, Sheldon is just an old man who is coming undone at the end of a long and hard life. But Sheldon is clear in his own mind.

La obra más exitosa de Haruki Murakami. Un conmovedora historia sobre la juventud, los primeros amores y el dolor que implica el paso a la madurez. Mientras aterriza en un aeropuerto europeo, Toru Watanabe, un ejecutivo de 37 años, escucha una vieja canción de los Beatles que le hace retroceder a su juventud, al turbulento Tokio de los años sesenta. Con una mezcla de melancolía y desasosiego, Toru recuerda entonces a la inestable y misteriosa Naoko, la novia de su mejor y único amigo de la adolescencia, Kizuki.

Martin's brother Lars finds a nisse on his nightly ski trip! He wants to take a picture of it to prove they exist. Martin has to stop his brother so the nisse doesn’t turn to stone! How will Martin be able to save the nisse?

One of Jon Fosse’s most acclaimed novels, Boathouse is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator leading a largely hermit-like existence until he unexpectedly encounters a long-lost childhood friend and his wife. Told partially in a stream-of-consciousness style and with an atmosphere reminiscent of a gripping crime novel, Boathouse slowly unravels the story of a love triangle leading to jealousy, betrayal, and eventually death.

Lauren Crenshaw and her Norwegian Forest Cat Annie run their own certified cat cafe in the picturesque small town of Gold Leaf Valley, Northern California. Lauren's fun cousin Zoe helps out as well. Lauren, Annie, and Zoe are shocked when one of their favorite customers is poisoned. Steve came into the cafe nearly every day - but who wanted him dead? The trio find themselves suspecting their customers - even elderly Mrs. Finch, whom Lauren thinks of as a substitute grandmother, doesn't escape their scrutiny.

Raider Bride is headed to Tromøy, where Ragnhild hopes to gain Åsa's aid in taking Gausel. But the voyage takes them through perilous waters where enemies lie in wait, and Ragnhild carries a secret that could ruin everything. On Tromøy, an ancient evil wakes and a forgotten enemy gains strength, threatening to destroy all those Åsa loves.

Butangen, Norway, the years before WWII: Astrid Hekne has inherited the fighting spirit of her grandmother, who was a protector of the mythic Sister Bells that had once hung in the village’s church. The once-traitorous priest Kai Schweigaard, now in his eighties, is wondering how his death, prophesied in a centuries-old tapestry, will come true. Schweigaard tries to understand the myths about the Night of the Scourge, which, according to old village beliefs, is the night when the known world will fall and the Earth will be scraped down to bare rock. Then Norway is occupied by the Nazis.

Everyone in the small town in Northern California seems drawn to Jason, the good-looking yet arrogant cupcake baker, and his French Bulldog—which means no customers for the trio. But when they discover Jason's dead body and are treated as major suspects, they decide to investigate! Who is the killer? The ex-girlfriend? The victim's best friend? Even Ms. Tobin is considered a suspect by the new detective in charge of the case. Lauren and Mitch go on a double date with Zoe and Chris, while Annie finds a possible clue.

Cat cafe owner, Lauren Crenshaw, with Annie, her Norwegian Forest Cat, and Zoe, Lauren's cousin, are catering the anniversary party at the local senior center in Gold Leaf Valley, when the greedy new landlord is killed in a hit and run. Was it an accident-or murder? Lauren, Annie, and Zoe aren't the only ones investigating. Their new friend Martha, a regular at the center, loves writing down tidbits of gossip. Has she inadvertently written down who the murderer is?

When Zoe gives her cousin Lauren a disastrous "trim", they run to the new hairdresser in town, who manages to fix Lauren's hair. While they're there, an angry customer storms into the salon, complaining about her perm. A few days later, Lauren and Zoe are shocked to discover the angry customer strangled right in front of the salon! Who is a suspect? Brooke, the new hair stylist? The victim's best friend? Or the victim's ex-husband who is just recovering from their bitter divorce?

Annie competes in a cat show, to help raise funds to improve the local park. Her friend AJ, a Maine Coon, enters too. A grumpy Persian called Mrs. Snuggle Face Furry Frost is also a competitor. Her owner, Kathleen, seems to like winning at all costs. But when Kathleen dies at the show, the trio wonder if it's natural causes . . . or . . . murder. Who is the killer? The male judge accused of bribery? The glamorous female judge who owns Himalayans? Or is it another competitor? And what will happen to Mrs. Snuggle Face Furry Frost?

Elizabeth did not plan to break up his marriage when she had an affair with her law school professor. But she did. 15 years later, she's still coming to terms with the consequences. Compelled to reveal the tragedy of her life to a nameless lover, Elizabeth finds herself forced to reconsider her definition of love, commitment, and responsibility - a process that finally releases her from the shackles of her past mistakes and shows her the way to her own happily ever after.

Bjørn Erliksen lives a peaceful life on Norway’s west coast and has never considered himself anything but a farmer. But when Nazi Germany invades, and his country’s ill-equipped military collapses in less than two months, it falls on him and other ordinary Norwegians to fight back.

Cecilia Wilborg has it all - a loving husband, two beautiful daughters and a gorgeous home in the affluent Norwegian town of Sandefjord. And she works hard to keep it all together. Too hard. Because one mistake from her past could bring it all crashing down around her. Annika Lucasson lives a dark life with her abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend. She's lost everything one too many times and now she's got one last chance to save herself, thanks to Cecilia. Annika knows her secret - and just how much she's willing to do to make it all go away...