Septology

For those estranged from or averse to organized religion, what better way to enter into the mystery of human existence than reading Jon Fosse’s Septology. A finalist for the Man Booker prize, its unique prose is almost a prayer or meditation. No sentences, minimal punctuation—more an unfolding of words that mimic the repetitive rhythm of the rosary—which is how Fosse ends each chapter.Ostensibly the story of an artist and his doppelgänger, it’s more of an extended meditation on art, religion and the human condition.The author is a Norwegian Catholic convert with an understanding that stems more from Meister Eckhart than any creed. God is and is not, man would not exist without God but God too would not exist without man. It’s obviously for those who can abide nonlinear thinking.Characters morph into each other, time and place effortlessly shift and shift back—the prose tries to be a view of the world from the stance of eternity.And, for those of us whose families have experienced the Holocaust or similar genocides, there’s something attractive in Fosse’s idea that God shines brightest in darkness; that it is not so much the sunny day or expanse of lea that reveals God as it is suffering and death. And what could be more faithful to a tradition that commemorates a crucified king?It’s a book for both the religious and the spiritual not religious among us. It doesn’t solve arguments about the existence of God but it does something incredibly original with its prose that will reveal even to unbelievers something of a contemporary religious viewpoint. For those open-minded enough to want to empathize with all kinds of human beings, it’s well worth reading

I was happy to get a combined edition but the font is just too small. I'll have to buy other copies to comfortably read the book.