Martin Andersen Nexø (1869–1954)

I read only volume I ("Boyhood"); there are three more to go; apparently a masterpiece and classic of Danish fiction. I enjoyed it enormously. The whole set covers Pelle's life through his adulthood, beginning with him as an 8-year-old Swedish immigrant to Denmark with his aging father, a widower, in 1877. Wonderful writing; very evocative of a time and place...apparently the whole work takes him through adulthood as a champion of the working classes. I am looking forward to reading the next volume but then I'm stuck. Tiina Nunnally (and her husband Steven Murray) translated the first two and stopped; I suspect it has to do with the Fjord Press that they started (publishing classic Scandinavian fiction) and that sadly then went bust. Murray died in 2018, I think, though Nunnally is still active and around 68 or so. Maybe I should writer her a fan letter and ask her to complete the work....… (more)

"They can do what they like with folks like us. I suppose we should be thankful for being allowed to live"
By sally tarbox on 8 October 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
"They can do what they like with folks like us. I suppose we should be thankful for being allowed to live"
By sally tarbox on 7 Oct. 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Written in the early part of 20th century, this novel tells the life of an unfortunate child brought up in adverse circumstances.
The illegitimate daughter of a single girl living at home, Ditte is burdened from the start. And when her mother shows no interest in the baby and moves away, Ditte is given a poor - but loving- home by her grandparents.
But as the years pass and adversity strikes, Ditte finds herself once more with her cruel mother - now married and with a family. But tensions remain, in particular the whereabouts of a sum of money paid to the grandparents by Ditte's natural father to get out of marriage...
This could have been a sentimental almost-Victorian tale - with chapters entitled 'Little Mother Ditte' and 'Rain and Sunshine', one almost expects it. However it's a powerful and beautifully written narrative; in style it's reminiscent of other Nordic authors of the time like Knut Hamsun and Halldor Laxness.… (more)