Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful little gem!
In Sorenson's retelling of the coming of Ragnarok, the author treats the Norse Gods in much the same manner as Homer treated the Greek Deities--less like divinities and more like a large, noisy, and oftentimes dysfunctional family.

Everyone in Asgard has a personality and a private agenda.Odin is very much the distant father who, at the same time, aches because his duties simply will not permit him to have a closer relationship with his family.Loki, while certainly a trickster character, does possess flashes of regret for things as they come to pass with Ragnarok.Balder is just trying to get others to be decent to one another.Thor, while portrayed as a bit of a "redneck",is one of the most interesting characters.You can't help but admire his tenacity, especially over the retelling of his fishing expedition against the Great Serpent.

Another plus with this book is the author's afterword about why he chose to end the book with Ragnarok, and not to write about the paradisical remaking of the world.

Definitely worth keeping! ... Read more

Product Description
History Revisited is an introduction to the historical narratives of Thorkild Hansen (1927-1989), Scandinavia's most influential writer in the documentary genre. The book offers valuable insights into the boundaries between history and literature, placing Hansen's oeuvre in the context of discussions by such canonical scholars as Collingwood, Croce, Dilthey, Foucault, and Hayden White. The book takes up in particular the question of Hansen's historical inquiries into Denmark's past and analyses how he shifts the focus from that of traditional historiography to obscure figures and failed ventures in the nation's past. Of special interest to American and English readers is the discussion of Hansen's monumental Slave Trilogy which offers a revisionist view of Denmark's role in the African slave trade. Finally, History Revisited demonstrates how the problematics of Hansen's historical works extend into his controversial trilogy on the trial of Knut Hamsun and into the postwar history of Norway. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Schildt (1888-1925) is one of Finland-Swedish Literature's major figures, and one of Finland's finest short-story writers. This anthology brings together stories from the different stages of Schildt's career for the first time in English. The early period, when Schildt was regarded as an observer of decadence in Helsinki, is represented by `Kairos', `The Achilles Heel' and' A New Life'. `A Sparrow among Hawks', from 1915, tells of a boy's humiliation at a school dance. `The Weaker One' (1918), regarded by many to be Schildt's masterpiece, is a precisely drawn, melancholic tale of adultery and deception. Schildt's experience of the Finnish Civil War informs his later stories: the enigmatic tale of Aapo, a stable boy who takes the opportunity for revenge during the war; `The Meat Grinder', a tragic story of gun-running; `The Karamzinian Horse' tells of linguistic isolation in Helsinki. The final story in this volume, `The Enchanted Forest' (1920), returns to the theme of betrayal in love, with the tale of a disillusioned and alienated author. ... Read more

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Huldén has distinguished himself as philologist (studies on onomastics, dialectology, and Carl Michael Bellman) and poet.Since 1973 he has been the official resident of the "Poet's Home" at Provoo, Finland, an honour making him,as it were, the poet-laureate of Finland's Swedish-speaking minority.A central figure in Sweden's culture, he is also an author of cabarets, editor of scholarly texts, and translator.This is the first translation of Huldén'shumorous, allusive verse, and it was carried out in close collaboration with Huldén himself by George C. Schoolfield, professor of German and Scandinavian at Yale University. ... Read more

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Strindberg (1849-1912) is best known internationally as Sweden's greatest dramatist. Less well known outside Sweden is the range of his other writings-novels, short stories, essays, journalism, and poetry. This novella, translated into English here for the first time, was written in the autumn of 1888. Set in the 1690s, in a province of Sweden recently annexed from Denmark, the novella tells the story of Andeas Torner, a Swedish academic who finds himself spending the summer holiday with his family at the manor house of an eccentric gypsy. A conflict arises in which Torner must resort to despicable deeds to renounce the gypsy. Strindberg, in parading his prejudices so nakedly, is simultaneously revealing many of the aspects of his age that would lead to tragic consequences in the century that followed. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting Twist On The Viking Saga
The Holme Trilogy is really interesting, because in this Viking saga, the traditional warrior isn't the hero...his slave (thrall) Holme is. The book begins with a woman thrall, Ausi, giving birth to Holme's child after he raped her. (It seems that virtually every sexual relationship begins with/is always by rape.) The Viking chieftan of the settlement orders that the baby be abandoned to die in the woods, but Holme rescues the child (an unheard of act). He, Ausi & the child flee into the woods, living in a cave for a while. They later relocate outside a trading city on an island. The book has virtually no dialogue in it, and is interesting because the book shifts from blind narration to a "stream of consciousness" perspective from the characters even in the midst of a paragraph. The author does a brilliant job of setting the scenes & describing things in great detail. The book is filled with beautiful, haunting & terrifying imagry. Much like many of the works of Knut Hamsun, this is an "unromantic romance." The book grabbed my attention early on & held it fast. It's a wonderful story & a brilliant work of art. I can't wait to start reading part two later tonight. Get this! ... Read more