Septology
About the book
Painter Asle’s life becomes entwined with that of another painter bearing the same name.
Original title: Septologien
Europe · A READING GUIDE
Norway
Begin with Vesaas’s The Ice Palace or Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses for a concentrated story of loss and memory. Fosse and Solstad reward attention to the movement of thought; Knausgård to autobiographical detail, represented here by his cycle’s first volume. Undset offers expansive historical fiction and Gaarder philosophy through a plot. Hamsun is a significant psychological novelist whose literary importance must be distinguished from his support for Nazism; Hjorth opens a contemporary conversation about family and abuse.
Books to begin with
An editorial selection · not rankedNo matches. Try another language or search term.
Hunger
About the book
A starving writer wanders Kristiania, struggling with poverty and his own consciousness.
Original title: Sult
The Birds
About the book
Mattis lives in his sister’s care until a stranger’s arrival threatens their fragile balance.
Original title: Fuglane
The Ice Palace
About the book
Siss and Unn’s brief friendship is interrupted by a mysterious disappearance.
Original title: Is-slottet
PolishTranslation
Zamek z lodu (w tomie Wiosenna noc / Zamek z lodu)
Wydawnictwo Poznańskie
Edition source ↗Out Stealing Horses
About the book
Living alone, Trond remembers the summer that changed his relationship with his father.
Original title: Ut og stjæle hester
Kristin Lavransdatter
About the book
The trilogy follows Kristin from youth to old age in medieval Norway.
Will and Testament
About the book
A dispute over an inheritance forces Bergljot to confront abuse and her family’s silence.
Original title: Arv og miljø
A Death in the Family
About the book
The opening volume of an autobiographical cycle returns to the author’s childhood and his father’s death.
Original title: Min kamp 1
Novel 11, Book 18
About the book
Bjørn Hansen abandons his former life and undertakes a radical existential experiment.
Original title: Ellevte roman, bok atten
Sophie’s World
About the book
Mysterious letters introduce teenage Sophie to the history of philosophy and the mystery of her own world.
Original title: Sofies verden
Morning and Evening
About the book
Johannes’s birth and death frame a meditation on an ordinary human life.
Aliss at the Fire
About the book
A woman remembers her husband’s disappearance on the fjord as the family past enters the present.
Context and sources
Sources on authors and their connections to this country. Specific edition details appear beside each book. Polish and English originals are not labelled as translations.
Your next destination
Europe · Reading guide
Poland
21 selected books
EnglishPolish
Europe · Reading guide
Portugal
12 selected books
EnglishPolish
Europe · Reading guide
Romania
12 selected books
EnglishPolish