Book Talk: The Liar
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Category |
Entertainment |
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Start date |
04.11.2023 07:00 PM |
Address / City: |
58 Park Ave New York City |
End date |
04.11.2023 08:00 PM |
Location |
NY, US |
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Paul Larkin and Morten Høi Jensen discuss Martin A. Hansens The Liar, one of the greatest works of modern Scandinavian fiction, out April 4 from NYRB Classics in new translation by Larkin with an introduction by Jensen.
First published in 1950, The Liar tells the story of Johannes Lye, a teacher and parish clerk on tiny Sand Island off the coast of Denmark, a place that in winter is entirely cut off from the world at large by ice. It is winter when the book begins, and for years now Johannes has lived alone, even as he nurses a secret passion for Annemari, a former pupil. Annemari is engaged to a local man, Olaf, who has left the island but is due to return come spring. She is also being courted by a young engineer from the mainland.
Such are the chief players in a compact drama, recorded in Johanness ironic, self-lacerating, and anything but reliable diary.
Martin A. Hansens novel beautifully evokes the stark landscape of Sand Island and the immemorial circuit of the seasons as well as the mysterious passage of time in the human heart, all the while proceeding to a supremely suspenseful conclusion.
This program will take place in-person at Scandinavia House; reservation required. |
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