The conqueror : a novel

Jonas Wergeland is on trial, accused of murdering his wife. The most beloved and celebrated television personality in Norway, Wergeland's programs on the history of Norway held the country in his thrall. Now the spectacle of his trial has done the same. A professor is hired to write the definitive biography of Wergeland, but finds himself unable to process the astonishing volume of contradictory information he unearths--until a mysterious woman appears on his doorstep. Possessing innumerable intimate stories about Jonas, the woman details the dark side of his rise to prominence, and through her stories tries to explain what made him a murderer. Told in a series of short, interconnected, self-referential, and constantly evolving passages--each shooting off from the last like light from a prism and moving indifferently from the past to the present--Jan Kjaerstad has constructed a wonder of a novel whose form and subject explore what, in the apparent absence of simple cause and effect, makes life coherent. **

jonas Wergeland Is In Prison For The Murder Of His Wife. The Most Beloved And Celebrated Television Personality In Norway, Wergeland's Programs On The History Of Norway Held The Country In His Thrall. The Spectacle Of His Downfall Has Done The Same. A Professor Is Hired To Write The Definitive Biography Of Wergeland, But Finds Himself Unable To Process The Astonishing Volume Of Contradictory Information He Unearths - Until A Mysterious Woman Appears On His Doorstep. Possessing Innumerable Intimate Stories About Jonas, The Woman Details The Dark Side Of His Rise To Prominence, And Through Her Stories Tries To Explain What Made Him A Murderer. Told In A Series Of Short, Interconnected, Self-referential, And Constantly Evolving Passages - Each Shooting Off From The Last Like Light From A Prism - Jan Kjaerstad Has Constructed A Wonder Of A Novel That Explores What, In The Apparent Absence Of Simple Cause And Effect, Makes Life Coherent.

publishers Weekly

in Kjaerstad's Second Installment To The Wergeland Trilogy (after the Seducer), Loosely Connected Vignettes About Troubled Norwegian Television Director Jonas Wergeland's Life Reveal Large And Often Unpleasant Truths About Him. The Action Stretches Over Wergeland's More Than 50-odd Years, Over Many Countries And Through A Wide Swath Of Women And A Murder. The Novel Is Presented As The Work Of An Academic Turned Popular Author Who Has Been Commissioned To Write A Wergeland Biography. However, The Professor Has Been Stymied By A Writer's Block That Is Only Lifted When A Mysterious Stranger With Insight About Wergeland Appears At His Doorstep. Despite The Collage Of Stories, The Name-dropping Of Norwegian Artists And The Complex System Of Symbolism That Kjaerstad Creates, The Narrative (thanks To Haveland's Faultless Translation) Never Feels Head-scratchingly Norwegian, And Kjaerstad Leaves Overly Obvious Signposts To Assure There Is No Ambiguity About His Motifs And Meanings. Kjaerstad's Reminder That The Connections Between The Stories In A Life Are As Important As The Stories Themselves Yields Well-knit-together Stories, So That A Darkly Humorous Picture Of Wergeland's Life Finally Emerges. (feb.)

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Jonas Wergeland has been convicted of the murder of his wife Margrete. What brought Norway's darling to this end? A professor has been set the task of writing a biography of the once celebrated, now notorious, television personality; in doing so he hopes to solve the riddle of Jonas Wergeland's success and downfall. But the sheer volume of material on his subject is so daunting that the professor finds himself completely bogged down, at a loss as how to proceed, until the evening when a mysterious stranger knocks on his door and offers to tell him stories which will help him unravel the strands of Wergeland's life. A professor writing the definitive biography of Jonas Wergeland is unable to process the astonishing volume of contradictory information he unearthsuntil a mysterious woman appears on his doorstep. Possessing innumerable intimate stories about Jonas, the woman details the dark side of his rise to prominence, and through her stories tries to explain what made him a murderer. Is it possible to change a life by telling it? Jan Kjærstad explores the dark side of a rosy existence in this second volume of his celebrated Jonas Wergeland trilogy.