The Discoverer is the third book 
Tom Shone of the New York Times seems to think that Kjaerstad “attempt[s] to do for Norway what Joyce did for Ireland in “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” — to forge in the smithy of his soul the uncreated conscience of his race.” I am quite certain this is wrong: I think Jan Kjaerstad is trying to do what Henrik Ibsen did in Peer Gynt but this time in a modern, contemporary setting and with reference to contemporary and real events – to place the Norwegian affection for greatness, which Ibsen viewed as exerting a negative influence on public discourse and an expression of vanity, on display; and then to dissect it, be ironic over it, have fun with it, make Norwegians see it and laugh over it. And, of course, to also spin a great, high-flung tale that ridicules and amuses – especially if you know Norway and Norwegians – while doing it.
Be that as it may. The only man to say what the aim of the novel is, is Jan Kjaerstad. And so far he hasn’t said much, apart from noting that he wants you to still not know whether Jonas Wergeland killed his beloved wife, Margrete Boeck, or not. And this he most certainly achieved: After three volumes and approximately 1,500 pages this is still a question open for debate!
In the first volume of the trilogy, The Seducer, we witnessed the meteoric rise of Jonas Wergeland – Norwegian television celebrity, a multi-talented charlatan and seducer not only of women but of the minds of the public as well. A man who in a very short time became the most well-known Norwegian (in Norway) next to the King. Who had the ability to enthrall and excite men and woman of all ages all over the land by, essentially, telling tales about big Norwegian men doing huge things – giving events spin, showing the greatness in the history of the Norwegian people, perhaps more as it could have been than as it actually was, and thus, far preferable to how the stories had been previously told and interpreted. In a way, Jonas Wergeland was a man who became a stellar celebrity because he made Norwegians bigger and prouder.
Then, in the second volume, The Conqueror, we witnessed his almost instant fall from grace when he was arrested and found guilty of having murdered his wife. The man who had been so loved, and who had achieved so much (while never actually doing much) fell out of favor while the public debate over his terrible deed – which many, if not most, Norwegians thought him incapable of committing.
Now, in The Discoverer, the third volume of the Jonas Wergeland trilogy, Jonas has been released from prison after having completed his sentence for the killing of his wife. And we find him in a very moderate, new position as a secretary aboard the Voyager, a ship which is exploring the far reaches of the mighty Sognefjord—the longest fjord in the world.
Jonas, however, is mostly concerned with exploring and understanding the past. Processing his life, his relationships, his fame, and his fall: and now, this time, he tells his own story. And the key story, among the many stories told and untold about the man who is Jonas Wergeland, seems to him to be the story of the life and death of his wife Margrete. As it turns that, the story of her and of their relationship, is no less complex and multi-dimensional than the story of – you guessed it – Jonas Wergeland himself.
The Discoverer is a masterful, intense, roaming and far-reaching world class novel. It throws the stories at you, from every direction, and sometimes in multiple, diverging versions – examining, re-examining and twisting in a way that makes the multiples live alongside one another. It is powerfully told – a novel that makes a strong impression, and a novel far too complex to be read fast, perhaps even a novel that requires several readings (I have so far read it twice, and feel I have read two different very engaging and rich novels). The Discoverer – and, indeed, the whole trilogy – is very, very interesting and intriguing. If you like excellent literature, you should go and get it and allow yourself to be sucked deep into the alternate and quite unique universe of Jonas Wergeland!
, 
, and 
.{ 0 comments }
in Jan Kjaerstad’s Wergeland trilogy, excellently translated by Barbara Haveland, and the story starts right after The Seducer. The novel is very interestingly composed, with a number of relatively loosely connected vignettes about the life of the troubled Norwegian television director Jonas Wergeland. Wergeland is now in prison for the murder of his wife. While he previously was a hero of the Norwegian people, a huge celebrity, he is now, in The Conqueror, one the media loves to bash.
about Jonas Wergeland. It was very well received in Norway when it was published, both by critics and readers, and Jan Kjaerstad (Kjærstad) later won the Nordic Council Literary Prize for this book.
Kjaerstad describes his childhood in 1950s Grorud as practically ideal. Well before expansion from Oslo really took hold, he spent his free time with other local children playing on local farms and fishing in the creek. As he grew up, construction sites popped up around Grorud, rapidly building large apartment complexes to resolve the postwar housing crunch. From a schoolchild’s perspective, the construction sites provided exciting places to play and climb on the scaffolding. Kjaerstad was an exceptionally shy child who disliked being in the spotlight. He dreaded school pageants, being asked to read aloud in English class, selling tickets at the door, and saying hello to strangers.