Absalom's Hair

by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Nobel Prize

95 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1895

About the author

Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit."
Bjørnson is the author of the lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet".

Reviews

[Old Man JP · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my fourth Bjornson book and I must admit I'm not totally enamored by them. His books verge on being morality tales that have an epic sweep to them even though they are relatively short. They are filled with misunderstanding and obstinance and tend to be rather depressing. This book is about a woman who has a child named Rafael from a very dysfunctional marriage to an older man and follows that childs life well into adulthood. The relationship between the mother and son swings wildly from devotional love to hatred and back again. The son enters into a disastrous marriage that almost leads him into insanity. Not exactly an enjoyable read but to top it off the ending was nothing but bizarre.

[Scott Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norwegian author and poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was the third recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature awarded in 1903. According to sources, Bjørnson is considered to be one of Norwegian greatest writers, others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland. Bjørnson also penned the words to the Norwegian national anthem. My introduction to Bjørnson‘s oevre is with two stories: a novella, “Absalom’s Hair,” and a short story, “A Painful Memory from Childhood.” It is worth noting that the (free) electronic download contained many typos and the English translation was not smooth. However the stories were still captivating. “Absalom’s Hair” was like a musical tone poem. The tempo started out on a steady cadence, but quickened as the story line began a decrescendo into dark despair. The prose at times transcended the translation barrier, “to find oneself alone in a Norwegian bay is like leaving a noisy market-place at midday and passing into a high vaulted church where no sound penetrates from without, and where only one's own footstep breaks the silence. Holiness, purification, abstraction, devotion, but in such light and freedom as no church possesses.” Overall I would characterize the story as being a morality play, however I was not always certain as to what the author intended to be the moral. Perhaps it is danger associated with pride and youth preceding a fall? If so, this story was an apt reminder. The book ends with the insertion of a short story, “A Painful Memory from Childhood.” Painful indeed, as the reader is subjected to the demise and beheading of a youth who had committed a crime of passion.

[Yannik · Rating 2 out of 5]

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