- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: John Murray (16 Oct 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0719521122
- ISBN-13: 978-0719521126
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 124,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘Wonderful novella...he captures the intense cold beautifully’
‘A compact and compelling novel by an iconic Norwegian writer...[and] thanks to Don Bartlett and Don Shaw’s crisp translation, we see it obliquely’
(Boyd Tonkin, Independent )'A strange, impressively understated novel . . . a daunting, traditional narrative which asserts itself from page one and, like the winter cold, refuses to relax its hold.' (Irish Times )
‘Jacobsen excels in his portrait of what it means to be an outsider’
'Jacobsen is a gifted writer, stylish, laconic and imaginative, and he is well served by his translators, Don Bartlett and Don Shaw . . . a powerful and well-written account of an unfamilliar episode in the Second World War.' (TLS )
'An inventive wordsmith and a great storyteller, [Jacobsen] never sacrifices substance for style. His research is meticulous; he knows when to hold back and let the unspoken speak for itself, the hallmark of an author so familiar with his subject that he knows precisely where to let the reader fill in the gaps. As he often places his characters in the midst of historical events and social change, the reader feels more emotionally involved than a mere observer would: The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles is a gem of a novel. (Independent )
‘The perfect Christmas one-sitting novel’
‘A strange, understated and compelling tale’
‘This deceptively simple novel is multi-layered and fascinating’
‘Atmospheric novel’
(Source Magazine )Times Literary Supplement
'Jacobsen is a gifted writer, stylish, laconic and imaginative, and he is well served by his translators, Don Barlett and Don Shaw . . . a powerful and well-written account of an unfamilliar episode in the Second World War.'
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book on a whim as part of a three-for-two offer. I read it all on one cold and rainy day as I travelled around London, and I was mesmerised by it. It is exquisitely written and translated, a small and close-focus story, and rather like a strange and mysterious dream. I can't recommend it highly enough for an unusual and fascinating short read.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jacobsen sets his subtle tale in Finland during the second World War when the USSR invaded on three fronts. Initially the Finns outskiied their enemy but, after 15 weeks, the Soviets were in charge. When his fellow villagers plan to burn down the town and leave, Timo the woodsman is determined to stay. Detached and possibly autistic, he tells his story with deadpan lucidity, while Jacobsen, making inspired use of the vicious winter temperatures against which his characters tense and contort themselves, never explains too much. A very worthwhile read.
Format:Hardcover
I had never heard of Roy Jacobsen before coming across this book. I'm quite a fussy reader and have no qualms about putting down a book half-way through if I don't like it. I was hugely impressed with the quality of the writing in this book. I really didn't want it to end, I was enjoying it so much. I think Jacobsen is an incredibly talented writer. It is not really the plot which makes this one of my favourite books, but rather his prose style which can appear very simple, yet is, I believe, very hard to achieve. His style also creates a low-key, brooding atmosphere, and achieves the perfect balance between beautifully descriptive prose and brevity. That is no mean feat. I am also a fan of Knut Hamsun's Hunger and this novel does have strong echoes of Hamsun, not just because the protagonist in each is a relatively uncomplicated man, but, again, in the prose style - and also because of the sentiments expressed by Hamsun's and Jacobsen's respective heroes.
The word 'gem' has been used both by others reviewers here and on the novel's cover to sum up this book, and it is indeed an extremely apt. I'd go further though and say, for me at least, it is a classic and will be unforgettable.
I'll definitely be reading it again.
The word 'gem' has been used both by others reviewers here and on the novel's cover to sum up this book, and it is indeed an extremely apt. I'd go further though and say, for me at least, it is a classic and will be unforgettable.
I'll definitely be reading it again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Intense description of survival in Finland circa 1939/40
Timo Vatanen is a simple woodsman living in a small town in Finland when the Finnish Army arrive to blitz and evacuate the town ahead of the rapidly approaching Russian Army. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kiwifunlad
Keeping the fire burning
As the Russian army moves into Finland in December 1939, the people of the village of Suomussalmi flee, leaving their homes and possessions behind them to be burnt by the... Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2008 by Keris Nine
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