annieb123's Review of The Hills Reply

by Tarjei Vesaas

“There’s beauty to be found outdoors, but it’s not without its horrors. The conflicted role of humans in nature is a familiar theme, but few narratives hum with the surreal power of this one.” — Kirkus Reviews

An intensely graceful novel recounting scenes of the Norwegian countryside from one of Norway's most beloved 20th-century writers

Tarjei Vesaas’s final work, The Hills Reply, is a flow of intensely lyrical autobiographical scenes. The vivid beauty of the wilds of Norway grounds the narrator’s interior flashes.

The first sketch finds a boy, his father, and their packhorse clearing a logging road buried in snow as their surroundings give way to a crisis. Profound insights into human behavior, solitude, and nonverbal communication stand up to the power and immensity of the natural world. The land speaks to (and at times almost swallows) the central character, as he is pushed to the edge of what a body and mind can endure.

The hypnotic pulse of Vesaas’s prose blurs the line between memory and hallucination, as it stares bravely into the unblinking eye of Nature. An unforgettable book, The Hills Reply is a visceral salute to the human spirit, to the ecstasy of wilderness, and to their tender overlapping.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Hills Reply is a collection of short vignettes by Tarjei Vesaas, translated from Norwegian by Elizabeth Rokkan. Originally published (in Norwegian) in 1968, this reformat and re-release in English is due out 10th Dec 2019. It's 272 pages and will be available in ebook and paperback formats.

These are stark introspective and poetic scenes. There is no index, no table of contents and no precisely discernible order to the collection. There is no plot and no real narrative arc. The translation work is perfect but in no way invisible. The prose has a distinct Norwegian flavor. It's pared down and spare, efficient and quite beautiful.

This would be an excellent selection for a number of academic settings such as foreign literature in translation, modern Scandinavian literature/poetry, possibly even some language translation work. It would also be a great pick for people who appreciate and seek out freeform poetry, modern literature, etc.

Four stars for me, five for lovers of fine literature (which I am also, but this one was so full of sentence fragments and poetic 'bits' that it was a hard slog for me).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Hills Reply

by Tarjei Vesaas

Reviewed by annieb123 on Dec 3, 2019

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