Child Wonder by Roy Jacobsen

Little Finn lives with his mother in an apartment in a working-class suburb of Oslo. Life is a struggle to make ends meet, but he does not mind. When his mother decides to take a lodger to help pay the bills, he watches with interest as she freshens up their small apartment with new wallpaper and a sofa paid for in installments. He befriends their new male lodger, whose television is more tempting to him than his mother would like.

When a half sister whom he never knew joins the household, Finn takes her under his wing over an everlasting summer on Håøya Island. But he can't understand why everyone thinks his new sister is so different from every other child. Nor can he fathom his mother's painful secret, one that pushes them ever farther apart. As summer comes to a close, Finn must attempt to grasp the incomprehensible adult world and his place within it.

Child Wonder is a powerful and unsentimental portrait of childhood. Roy Jacobsen, through the eyes of a child, has produced an immensely uplifting novel that shines with light and warmth.   -- Amazon

*Winner of the prestigious Norwegian Booksellers' Prize*

*A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection (Holiday 2011)*

A glorious evocation of a Norwegian childhood in the early sixties by an author short-listed for the 2009 Dublin IMPAC Award

Sunday November 21, 3 PM
The Finnmark Witch Trials
A joint program of the Reading Circle and NHR

We’re all familiar with the Salem, MA witch trials of 1692-93, but did you know there were witch trials throughout northern Europe in the 17th century, and that in the remote region of Finnmark, Norway, over 100 “witcheshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg4tyy_9Xsg” were tortured to death or burned at the stake during that time? Dr. Liv Helene Willumsen will discuss the Finnmark witch trials at a joint Zoom meeting of the Reading Circle and the Norwegian History Roundtable on Sunday, Nov. 21. Dr. Willumsen is Professor Emerita of History, University of Tromsø, and translated the Finnmark witchcraft trial transcripts to English. Her publications include Witchcraft Trials in Finnmark, Northern Norway and Witches of the North, Scotland and Finnmark. The Reading Circle learned about these fascinating and appalling events thanks to the historical novel The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, who cites Dr. Willumsen’s “invaluable” research. You might want to start reading this novel now, before the meeting. The Zoom link will be emailed to the newsletter distribution list shortly before the meeting.

The Master Builder

Reading Circle Selection for June 22 at 7:30 PM

with Laurie Jaghlit as facilitator

First performed in 1892, this psychological drama is one of the great Norwegian playwright's most symbolic and lyrical works. The drama explores the insecurities of an aging architect, Halvard Solness, who suspects that his creative powers have diminished with age. Solness finds strength of purpose in his involvement with Hilda — his muse, inspiration, and ardent believer in his greatness — but their association leads to a conflict between heroic myth and complicated reality.(Goodreads)   If  you plan to attend, please contact Christine Meloni by midnight on June 20th  at reading@norwaydc.org and she will send you the link.

We will be using The Master Builder and Other Plays, translated by Barbara Haveland and Anne-Marie Stanton-Ife, in the new Penguin Classics series.

The Reading Circle

Reading Circle Selection for April  20 at 7:30 PM

The Quisling Factor by Janet Oakley

The April selection of the Reading Circle is The Quisling Factor by Janet Oakley, our friend and lodge member. It is the sequel to her wonderful book The Jøssing Affair. I am delighted that she has agreed to be the facilitator for our discussion. We will meet virtually at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, April 20th. Please RSVP to Reading@NorwayDC.org to receive the zoom link. Although The Quisling Factor can stand alone, you would probably enjoy it even more if you read The Jøssing Affair first, now available in three formats: paperback, e-book on Amazon (or order through your favorite bookstore) and currently as an audiobook at Chirp www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/the-jossing-affair-by-j-l-oakley, Google Play, Apple Play, and Nook Audiobooks. Audible will be added soon. See my review of The Jøssing Affair in the Norwegian American newspaper at www.norwegianamerican.com/the-jossing-affair as well as my interview with Janet at www.norwegianamerican.com/an-interview-with-j-l-oakley. 

We will meet via zoom at 7:30 PM. If  you plan to attend, please contact Christine Meloni by midnight on April 19th at reading@norwaydc.org and she will send you the link. Janet Oakley will be the facilitator. Everyone is welcome to join us. The book is available both in paperback and on Kindle. Looking ahead, the other works to be discussed this year are The Master Builder by Ibsen (Laurie Jaghlit as facilitator), The Mercies by Kirin Millwood Hargrave, Child Wonder by Roy Jacobsen, and One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway and Its Aftermath by Asne Seierstad (Laurie Jaghlit as facilitator). Submitted by Christine Foster Meloni, Reading Circle Facilit