Danger and Delight (Heftet)

Essays on writing and existence

Author:

Vigdis Hjorth

Norwegian title: Fryd og fare
Norwegian subtitle: Essay om diktning og eksistens
Author:
Binding: Heftet
Year: 2013
Pages: 216
Publisher: Cappelen Damm
Språk: Bokmål
ISBN/EAN: 9788202423049
Overview Fryd og fare

Above all, Vigdis Hjorth is a novelist, but she is also a committed and critical reader and contributor to the social debate. In 1999, her collection of prose pieces Confessions of an Erotic Author was published. The book is a showcase for her sense of humour and acute insights in small as well as larger matters. Since then, her writing has developed until she is now one of Norway's most interesting authors. She was awarded the Hunger (Sult) Prize and her recent Long Live the Post Horn! has just won the Critics' Prize. Her novels always trigger comment and discussion. Now, we are offered another opportunity to read her thoughts about other authors, for instance Hamsun, Brecht, Woolf, Kierkegaard, Gombrowicz and others. This collection contains articles, poetry, interviews and longer essays. The tone of Literary Essays is laid-back and amusing, but demonstrates the author's great intellectual breadth and engagement.

'Vigdis Horth presents a collection of great articles she has written about literature in a book called Fryd og fare, where she proves that a warm, educated and enthusiastic person can make learning fun and inspiring in a way machines just can’t… It takes time to read this book, but not because it’s long or verbose. It takes time because you need to put it down and have a think every now and then and have discussions with yourself about the topics in question. It is only once you’ve had this discussion that you can you pick it up again and carry on, with Vigdis Horth as your able guide.'
Dag og Tid

'When I read Fryd og fare, I want to write more like Vigdis Horth... an inspiring contribution to the never-ending debate about the role of literature.'
Morgenbladet

'Vigdis Horth is a master of the art of seducing the reader without losing sight of seriousness. The result is eleven great texts about life and literature… Hjort discusses freedom and responsibility, and her essay about Søren Kierkegaard weaves personal experience with philosophical insights about daring to live a life free from the pressure to conform. Vigdis Horth’s life and literature is in itself an example of this. … Vigdis Horth’s essay collection “Fryd og fare” reminds us that literature in one way or another must concern the reader in order to be relevant and interesting.'
Bergens Tidende

'An exemplary presentation of other writers.'
Dagbladet

'This essay collection showcases an author who plays the whole gamut. … This essay collection gives good insight into Vigdis Horth’s many passionate relationships with literature, relationships which showcase an author who plays the whole gamut and where eroticism by no means reigns supreme, but is one of many human fields which can be used to illuminate our lives and help us to understand ourselves better.'

Dagsavisen

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Andre utgaver

Fryd og fare
Bokmål Heftet 2016

More books by Vigdis Hjorth:

Reviews Fryd og fare

"Vigdis Hjorth har samla eit knippe gode artiklar ho har skrive om litteratur i ei bok med tittelen Fryd og fare, og der syner ho at eit varmt, kultivert og entusiastisk menneske kan gjera lærdom levande og inspirerande på ein måte maskinene ikkje kan etterlikna (...) Dette er ei bok som det tek tid å lesa, men ikkje av di ho er tjukk eller ordrik. Det kjem berre av at ein må leggja boka ned og gruvla litt no og då og føra diskusjonar med seg sjølv om det eine emnet etter det andre. Først når diskusjonen er vunnen, og det med glans, sjølvsagt, kan ein ta opp boka og lata seg føra vidare i litteraturen, med Vigdis Hjorth som ein klok og god guide."

Odd W. Surén, Dag og Tid

"Når jeg leser Fryd og fare, får jeg lyst til å skrive mer som Vigdis Hjorth ... et inspirerende bidrag til den evige debatten om litteraturens rolle."

Torill Moi, Morgenbladet

Åpent, tenksomt, og elegant

"Vigdis Hjorth kan kunsten å forføre leseren uten å tape alvoret av syne. Resultatet er elleve gode tekster om liv og litteratur.(...)Hjorth er opptatt av frihet og ansvar, og essayet om Søren Kierkegaard vever det personlige sammen med filosofiske innsikter om å tørre å leve sitt liv utenfor konformitetspresset. Vigdis Hjorths liv og litteratur er i så måte et eksempel til etterfølgelse.(...)Vigdis Hjorths essaysamling Fryd og fare minner oss om at litteratur på ett eller annet vis må angå leseren for å være relevant og interessant."

Gro Jørstad Nilsen, Bergens Tidende

Skriver essay uten jåleri

"Forbilledlig presentasjon av andre diktere."

Olav Løkken Reisop, Dagbladet

Det frydefulle alvor

"Essaysamlingen viser en forfatter som spiller på et stort register.(...)Essaysamlingen gir et godt innblikk i Vigdis Hjorths mange pasjonerte litterære forhold. De viser en forfatter som spiller på et stort register, der erotikken på ingen måte er enerådende, men en av mange menneskelige felter som kan brukes for å belyse livsvilkårene og forstå mer av seg selv."

Turid Larsen, Dagsavisen

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Author Vigdis Hjorth

Vigdis Hjorth (b. 1959) has over several decades been one of Norway’s most important authors. She published her debut in 1983 in form of the children’s book Pelle-Ragnar and the Yellow Building, for which she received the Norwegian Cultural Council’s Debut Prize. Since then, she has had a prolific and award-winning authorship, writing for both children and adults. She has won several awards in Norway and has been nominated twice for the Nordic Council Literature Prize so far, for Will and Testament (2016) and Is Mother Dead (2020).

Hjorth writes existential books about human conditions and life choices, and throws a sharp gaze at current topics in the contemporary time. With novels such as Long Live the Post Horn! (2012) she has made her mark as a fearless political author. Her big breakthrough came in 2016 with Will and Testament, which became an instant favourite among literature critics as well as a huge sales success. In this novel Hjorth writes about complicated family relationships, about violation and liberation in close relationships, and the right to own one’s own story. Will and Testament was nominated for the National Book Award and Millions Best Translated Book Award when it was published in the US and the UK in 2019. In 2022 Is Mother Dead came out in English, and it was longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Award. Hjorth’s novels have been translated into more than 30 languages.

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Foreign rights
Germany

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