Kirjava joukko: Novelleja

Carit Etlar (Johan Carl Christian Brosbøll)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 102K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Kirjava joukko: Novelleja by Carit EtlarAuthor: Etlar, Carit, 1816-1900,Language: Finnish, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Aug 25, 2008

Editor's review

This is a Finnish-language short story collection by the Danish author Carit Etlar; the title means "A Motley Crew" and gathers several brief stories. The author's writing often draws on history and folk life, and this collection continues his brisk storytelling manner, with characters and scenes shifting fluidly and a restraint and humor characteristic of Nordic narrative. The pieces are not wholly uniform in subject, reading like a tour of styles: some lean on character sketches, others close with a plot twist, suiting reading in installments rather than at one sitting. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies in giving Chinese readers a glimpse of nineteenth-century Danish popular short fiction and offering Nordic literature enthusiasts a less-translated sample. Note that the original is in Finnish, so non-Finnish readers need a translation or parallel reading; the content involves no complex theory, but historical background and cultural references still warrant attention.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Nordic literature and the short story form
Literature enthusiasts curious about nineteenth-century Danish popular narrative
Learners with Finnish reading ability or willing to read alongside a translation
Students needing short texts as supplementary reading for literature courses

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Finnish at all and no translation to rely on
Readers who prefer long continuous narratives and deep character development
Readers expecting modernist experimentation or discussion of contemporary issues

Reading tips

Read piece by piece, pausing after each to note the sketch-like qualities of characters and scenes.
If you don't read Finnish, first find a reliable translation to compare, focusing on differences in dialogue and narrative rhythm.
Briefly learn about nineteenth-century Danish society and folk life beforehand to aid understanding of details.
Choose two or three pieces for close reading and analyze how the author achieves twists and closures in short space.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language is this book in, and how can Chinese readers approach it?

The original is in Finnish, and the author is Danish. Chinese readers usually need a translation or parallel reading. If you have Finnish, you can read the original directly; otherwise, choose a reliable translation and pay attention to notes and background explanations.

Are the stories connected, and must they be read in order?

The pieces are relatively independent, with subjects and styles not wholly uniform, so order is not required. You can pick by interest or arrange reading pace by length. To grasp the overall character, a full read followed by a look back at the table of contents gives a clearer impression.

Is this book suitable as literature course material?

It suits use as supplementary material for Nordic short stories, especially for discussing narrative structure and character-sketch techniques. But note the language barrier; teachers should ideally provide a translation or Chinese explanations of key passages.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Carit Etlar (Johan Carl Christian Brosbøll) Author · Danish · 1816–1900

Carit Etlar (1816–1900) was a Danish writer whose real name was Johan Carl Christian Brosbøll. His pen name was formed as an anagram of his own name and that of his lover. He is known for historical adventure novels, most notably Gøngehøvdingen (The Chieftain of the Gønge, 1853), and wrote more than 75 works over his lifetime. Three of his works are held in this collection: Bjørneæt: Nationalhistorisk Roman, Novelleja ja Kertomuksia II, and Kirjava joukko: Novelleja. These show that he wrote both full-length historical narratives and shorter stories, often drawing on national history and folk legend. Public information on his life and literary background is limited, so this profile can only sketch his basic outline; his works remain a reference point for the study of nineteenth-century Danish popular historical fiction.