A review by anusha_reads
A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse

medium-paced

5.0

A NEW NAME, SEPTOLOGY VI&VII, JON FOSSE (NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023), Translated by DAMION SEARLS

 This book was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022 

The Septology is a captivating  story of  Asle, spanning seven days. 

Asle, a widower, intimately shares his present thoughts and past memories, expressing profound loneliness and longing for his late wife. He recalls all the moments he had with his wife. Despite being a renowned painter, Asle remains a humble, unassuming old man. 

The concluding part delves into Asle's new life at art school and his marriage to Ales, exploring the fascinating tale of how he meets the gallerist Beyer and achieves success selling his paintings. 

A part I loved was a scene where Asle pushes the swing Ales is sitting on, and Ales loves it and swings higher and higher. A similar scene is mentioned in the first book, where Asle, while taking a walk, sees a young woman sitting on the swing being pushed by a guy.  Asle reminisces the time he enjoyed with Ales. I found it very sweet and sad. 

There are two Asle and two ladies called Guro. Why did the author do that? Was it to show two parallel lives? Was it to depict the irrelevance of names? Or was it just to show that in life, there are people with the same names and different lives?

Like in the other two books, the marathon sentences with haunting and atmospheric narratives only add to the brilliance.

The voice inside Asle’s head debates the connection between God and humans, tries to find purpose and direction through faith, suffers due to isolation, questions one's identity, and tries to find the meaning of human existence vis-à-vis life and death, morality, etc.

As we grow old, we live mostly with our memories. Often grandpas and grandmas have told me a lot of tales about their childhood. In fact, they enjoy the narration themselves, and it kind of brings them comfort and evokes a sense of nostalgia. Whether sad or happy, these stories offer glimpses into who they were or how their lives got moulded. Reminiscing is a way of connecting with life, finding meaning, and reminding oneself of the journey undertaken, that is, a person’s history.

The ending was a bit ambiguous,  left to readers' discretion, I think!

This concludes the Septology.

This is a must-read!