It's the 1560s and Antinous Bellori, a boy of 11, is exploring the woods above his home in the north Italian mountains when night falls. Suddenly fearful, the boy wanders blindly through the trees, sensing danger at every turn, until he comes, unseen, upon a clearing in which there stand two glowing beings, one carrying a spear, the other a flaming torch: angels - this event is decisive in Bellori's life, just as encounters with angels have been for others throughout history. Beginning in the Garden of Eden and soaring right through to the present day, we revisit key moments when men have come face to face with these intermediaries of the divine: Cain and Abel cultivating their differences murderously; Lot's shame in Sodom; Noah's isolation before the Flood; Ezekiel tied to his bed, prophesying fiercely; and the death of Christ. Alighting upon these dramatic scenes - from the Bible and beyond - Knausgaard's imagination takes flight: the result is a dazzling display of storytelling at its majestic, spellbinding best.
A Time To Every Purpose Under Heaven
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"'Knausgaard writes world-class literature.... You simply have to read this.' - Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
KARL O. KNAUSGAARD was born in Norway in 1968 and made his debut with Out of This World. This, his second novel, was nominated for the Nordic Council Prize, and is his first to be translated into English. Translation rights have sold widely in Europe.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
A novel with a title as long as the book, relatively speaking. With over 500 pages, the author has provided us with a treatise - his treatise - on Angels.
Initially set in the 16th. century around a young boy, Antinous Bellori who comes across, unexpectdely, of course, a couple of angels high in the North Italian mountains, fishing with torch and spear. Thus we immediately realise that this book will not be the usual religious fare on Angels and their relationship with man. Re-telling two Old Testament stories takes up half the book, a beautifully explored view of the life of people from the period of Genesis going about their average daily life - but with guns, with stoves, takes the reader further into exploration and finally, up-to-date with a troubling account of a boy's relationship with his father and the world in which we live.
A marvellous book. Certainly thought-provoking and, happily, highly readable.
Initially set in the 16th. century around a young boy, Antinous Bellori who comes across, unexpectdely, of course, a couple of angels high in the North Italian mountains, fishing with torch and spear. Thus we immediately realise that this book will not be the usual religious fare on Angels and their relationship with man. Re-telling two Old Testament stories takes up half the book, a beautifully explored view of the life of people from the period of Genesis going about their average daily life - but with guns, with stoves, takes the reader further into exploration and finally, up-to-date with a troubling account of a boy's relationship with his father and the world in which we live.
A marvellous book. Certainly thought-provoking and, happily, highly readable.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By daisyrock
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I imagine this will be a marmite book. If you're happy to take your time reading languid, intricate prose, noodling over every other word to seek out the nuggets of literary truth and poetry, you will be fine with this. If you're seeking a pacy narrative, then not so much! Highly intellectual (pseudo or real, I'm not sure) and with very lofty literary goals, this is an intense book, but not necessarily an engaging one.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Marcus Pailing (Bartlesnipe's Revenge)
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I have tried, tried, tried to read this book ... and failed. Maybe I was in the wrong mood to give it a good shot, or maybe it just wasn't my thing. You need a clear head for it, without other distractions, as it requires real brain-power to get into it; at least, that's how it seems to me. I'm not stupid, and have read widely; but this one eluded me, I'm afraid.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Turgid and in most part, baffling
Firstly, I must confess I finally gave up on reading this book while only half way though it.
I found the style of writing both turgid and self-pretentious. Read more
I found the style of writing both turgid and self-pretentious. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Alan J. Stedall
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's a masterpiece
But like all masterpieces, it requires attention, patience and self-abnegation. If you give it that, it will bring you closer to an intimation of the divine, and of a heightened... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Pip
5.0 out of 5 stars
Weird and imaginative
Knausgaard has created a surreal world of angels and Bible characters, which covers the stories we read about in the Bible but not at all in the way we are familar with. Read more
Published on 23 Sep 2010 by J. Mann
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but not easy
This is a well-written and imaginitive work, built around retellings of biblical stories and meditations on the idea of angels. Read more
Published on 27 May 2010 by S. Pawley
2.0 out of 5 stars
An overlong, bleak reinterpretation of the fringes of Christian...
The possibility of retelling Bible narratives has captured the imagination of many authors. Two that have struck me in particular have been God Knows by Joseph Heller and Many... Read more
Published on 20 April 2009 by P. M. Fernandez
3.0 out of 5 stars
Can the nature of the divine undergo change? Maybe...
A dense and fairly pretentious story loosely framed around a 16th-century theologian/ philosopher's childhood encounter with a pair of angels... Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2009 by Andrew Sutherland
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unbelieveably dull...
Go to the product page, read the Product Description.
That's it. Now you don't have to buy the book. Read more
That's it. Now you don't have to buy the book. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2009 by K. Jamison
1.0 out of 5 stars
Pretentious drivel
I was seduced by the advertising blurb and by the first few pages of this novel, which seemed to promise a good story, with plenty of atmosphere and thought provoking detail. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2009 by John Williams
2.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond belief (and my capabilities)
Unless you really enjoy monster heavyweight intellectually challenging tomes and can knock off Dostoyevsky in an afternoon, then you are best advised to give 'A Time... Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2009 by Rowena Hoseason
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not very angelic
I really wanted to like this book. The beginning draws you in with an eye witness account of angels and the start of a discussion on the origin of angels, and then it starts to go... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2009 by P. Millar
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