Arne

by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Arne is a peasant with a strain of poetry in him; he is a dreamer of dreams and a maker of songs, but he is conditioned by his history and environment. He is first introduced as the "only child at the little farm among the hills," living with his grandmother and his mother, Margit, who "once stayed too long at a dancing party." He is the illegitimate son of one Nils Skraeder, a fiddler of genius and a man fatally attractive to women, but a drunkard and a ne'er-do-well. Nils has his back broken in a quarrel over Brigit, another girl of the countryside, is carried to Margit's house, recovers to a certain extent, and marries her. For a time he keeps sober, but relapses and maltreats her-to the indignation of their son Arne, who is only prevented by his father's sudden death from killing him. The lad grows up shy and reserved, but he is deeply attached to his mother, who is even more deeply attached to him. He longs, however, to go into the world, to fly over the hills and far away; he is restless and unsatisfied-but there is his mother! He has a friend who has gone into the world, and he expects to hear from him of it; letters arrive, but Margit, fearful lest she lose her son, keeps them, and hides from him that they have come. Then he falls in love with Eli, the daughter of the man with whom his father had had the row that laid him low, and Brigit of the same episode ...

Genres: Classics, Nobel Prize, Scandinavian Literature, Fiction, 19th Century

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1859

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

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norwegens erster Nobelpreisträger und Texter der Nationalhymne schreibt hier über Arnes Leben, eine Erzählung aus dem Kreise seiner Bauernerzählungen, von denen ich bis dato nur "Fiskerjenten" kannte, der wie alle Personen aus diesem Erzählkreis eher aus dem einfachen Volk kommt.
Arnes Vater ist ein ganz schlimmer Finger, der sich betrinkt und mit jedem Mädchen tanzt ("tanzt") und ziemlich frustriert ist, dass er a) aufgrund eines Unfalls nicht nach Amerika reisen konnte und so bei Arnes Mutter, die er regelmäßig verprügelt, versauert und b) nie die reiche Bauerstochter Birgit heiraten konnte. Arnes Leben spielt sich also zwischen den beiden Polen ab und später verliebt er sich, genau, in Birgits Tochter. Mehr verrate ich erst einmal nicht.
Das Buch lockt mit spannenden Wendungen und verlockt geradezu zu den unterschiedlichsten Deutungen. Die Erzählstränge sind stimmig und von Bjornson perfekt fingiert. Freue mich auf weitere Erzählungen.

[Elin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fin i sin relativa enkelhet. Upplever att Björnson skrev för sin tid och den tiden återspeglas fint i hans berättelser.

[Katrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am norwegian, so excuse my bad english :)
I read this book for school, I study nordic litterature. Usually I don't read much "old books", so I was a bit sceptical, espcially because of the old danish-norwegian language. But I was pleasantly surprised.
The plot is of course set in old times, with farms and everything, but as an litterature student I read this book looking for signs why we call it a classic, why we still read it. I wont say I have the answer, but what I think after reading this is that feelings is still feelings no matter when we are born. Things happen in this book that I can relate to this day. I cannot relate to live on a farm and what not, but I can realte to the emotions, the realtionships, the deeper themes in the book. And I think thats why we still study it, because there are things that are always relevant.
I dont know how to rate this book really, because it's not really something I would normally read, but I did like it. I wanted to read it, and I found it beautiful at times. B.B is very well known in Norway, and in this book there are songs, poems, and some of these are really pretty, and still relevant.
It was also really interesting to see how he wrote. And, as I said, he's very well known in Norway, and then it's fun to read just because of that.
Yeees, I don't know, I felt like giving a review, but Im not really good at giving them.

[Winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

2024:
3,5 Stars

An enjoyable little novel. It went darker than expected from Bjørnson while still keeping that lighter feel that I have come to expect. Now and then there are nuggets of insight into human nature that seem like they could have come right out of our own times.

[D. Dorka · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 csillag
#3 Björnstjerne Björnson (Nobel-díjasok)

Kicsit nehezen indultam a regénnyel, aztán megszoktam. Főleg az elején volt egy kis Ábel a rengetegben érzetem, amivel csak annyi a probléma, hogy az egyik legszenvedősebb olvasmányom volt a kötelezők műfajából. A közös elem igazából a természetközeli, gazdálkodó életvitel, ami együttjár egy olyan lelkülettel, ami nagyon messze áll tőlem.

Az első fejezet egy tanmese, ami nem meglepő módon összefoglalja az egész kisregény vezérfonalát, és a fő szimbólumot is, azaz hegyet. A kisregény tele van már-már lírai tájleírásokkal, metaforákkal, illetve dalokkal/versekkel.

Próbálom megtalálni, hogy mit is hoztam el ebből a történetből, így, hogy már egy hete befejeztem ráadásul. Talán Arne jellemfejlődését? Ahogy lavírozik az anyja és az apja között, eleinte befolyásolható gyermekként-kamaszként, majd fokozatosan egyre önállóbbá válik, és saját értékrendet alakít ki. Ami meg nem igazán tetszett, ahogy az anya korlátozza a gyermekét, és nem hagyja a saját útját járni, pláne nem máshol járni.

Minden kijelentésem mögött nagyon érzem, hogy szerintem nem értem egyáltalán ezt a típusú irodalmat, nem szólít meg, nem ér el. Az mindenesetre nem hátrány, ha néha ilyen is a kezembe kerül. Talán egyszer majd találok benne valamit, ami ott és akkor nagyon fontos lesz.

[Old Man JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Arne who was born out of wedlock to Margit. Margit later married Nils, the father of Arne, who became a drunkard and abusive husband. The story follows Arne as he grows up and dreams of traveling but after the death of his father he promises his mother he will never leave her. As in all of Bjornson's books it is told in an overly melodramatic prose and has a strong moralistic tone to it.

[Leonart Maruli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jelek ternyata, gak selesai bacanya karena mengecewakan...

[Julie York · Rating 1 out of 5]

Acne A Sketch of Norwegian Country Life

This book was not my cup of tea. I was bored with the story from the get-go! I could not get into this book at all.

[Dorottya AlBert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, nice folklore story from Norway. Beautiful descriptions of landscapes. Other than these, it is a forgettable novel.

[Marin Corina Mihaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

O poveste emoționantă despre copilăria, părinți, frământările dragostei.

[Jörg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zero relevance for today's readers. Nice, if you're interested in peasants' life in 19th century Norway.

[Sofia]

Very eclectic and eccentric works of genius. Loved every poetic piece of writing.

[Martin Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

Moralizante, paternalista y simplista, personajes acartonados y un argumento muy pedestre. Otorgar el Nobel de Literatura a este autor y no a Tolstói sólo podía obedecer a motivos políticos.