Liv

Kristofer Nagel JansonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 153K words
Chapters: 16

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.Liv by Kristofer JansonAuthor: Janson, Kristofer, 1841-1917,Language: Finnish, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Oct 29, 2007

Editor's review

Liv is a work written in Finnish by the Norwegian author Kristofer Janson (1841–1917), available from Project Gutenberg under the classification of Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures. Janson long engaged with social issues and the condition of women, and this work continues his observation of the tension between individual destiny and the norms of the age, with a narrative marked by the restraint and reflectiveness characteristic of Nordic literature. For Chinese readers its value lies not only in the story itself but in offering a window onto the nineteenth-century Nordic–Finnish cultural borderland: the language is Finnish while the author is Norwegian, and this cross-cultural position gives the text a subtle double perspective in characterization and moral judgment. The electronic edition, prepared by Project Gutenberg, is moderate in length and suitable as supplementary reading on a Nordic literature byway. Readers should note the distance created by the language of the edition and its historical and cultural background; reading alongside sources on nineteenth-century Nordic social history is recommended to better appreciate the social criticism implicit in the text. Overall, this is a minor work suited to slow, careful reading, and not to readers seeking strong plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Nordic literature and Scandinavian culture
Literature enthusiasts studying the condition of women and social issues in the nineteenth century
Readers hoping to broaden their reading of literature in minor languages
University teachers and students needing supplementary materials for teaching Nordic literature

Not a good fit for

Readers of genre fiction who prefer strong plots and fast-paced narrative
Readers wholly unfamiliar with Finnish cultural background who are unwilling to consult reference materials
Beginner readers expecting full annotations and an introduction

Reading tips

Begin with Janson's life and nineteenth-century Norwegian society before entering the text.
Note conflicts of value in characters' dialogue as you read, and attend to the author's double perspective.
Read alongside the tradition of Nordic women's writing to understand the work's literary position.
The electronic edition suits reading in segments; pause after each chapter to review character relationships and the historical background.

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

This book is written in Finnish—can Chinese readers read it?

The original is in Finnish, and Project Gutenberg provides the electronic text in the original language. Chinese readers will need a translation or parallel reading; confirm first whether a reliable Chinese translation exists, or read the original directly only with some grounding in Finnish, as the barrier to understanding is otherwise considerable.

Who was Janson, and why is his work worth reading?

Kristofer Janson (1841–1917) was a Norwegian author concerned with social issues and the condition of women. His work records the shifting values of nineteenth-century Scandinavia and is an entry point for understanding Scandinavian literature and social thought, suitable as reading on a byway of Nordic literature.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to Nordic literature?

Not really. The work is in a minor language, its background is distant, and the electronic edition lacks an introduction and annotations. Reading more commonly available authors such as Ibsen first to establish background, then turning to minor texts like Janson's, will make for a better reading experience.

Comments

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About the author

Kristofer Nagel Janson Author · Norwegian · 1841–1917

Kristofer Janson (1841–1917) was a Norwegian poet, writer and Unitarian minister, born in Bergen and regarded as the founder of the Unitarian Church in Norway. He preached to Norwegian immigrants in Minnesota, an experience that intertwined with his interest in folk life. His writing consists mainly of novels and prose, with representative works including the novels Marit Skjølte and Liv and the prose collection Fraa Bygdom. Other works held in the collection include Kulissien takana, Lumottu, Per ja Bergit and Erkki ja Aino. He often drew on Norwegian rural and immigrant life, writing in a plain style and focusing on the everyday and spiritual circumstances of ordinary people. Public information on his life and literary background is limited.