If there is anything that characterizes Vigdis Hjorth’s writing, it is protest. Protest against sleep-inducing indifference, protest against pretense and lies, protest against the framework that hinders individual freedom. Playwright Bertolt Brecht is an inspiration, as is theologian Søren Kierkegaard’s existentialism. Both get a thank you on the last page, along with Danish Tove Ditlevsen and Swedes Pär Lagerkvist and Gunnar Ekelöf. What do these authors have in common? Anxiety, restlessness, a burning heart. Brecht and Kierkegaard’s medicine is to encourage participation in the world and active action; these are imperatives that go straight to the hearts of young people. So maybe “Fifteen years” is a novel for young people? I think the book will appeal to young readers as much as to adults. One reason is Paula, the main character, who we follow from the age of ten to eleven until she is fifteen. It is her view that Hjorth shares, here the author is faithful to his young novel character, who misses a family that talks about proper things. Another reason is the clarity of the text. We readers are led step by step through Paula’s awakening towards becoming strong enough to make her own choices, despite her family’s expectations. For a young person, it can be eye-opening. For a more experienced reader, the calm pace at which the story unfolds can become cumbersome. And there are no truly revolutionary thoughts. Why does mother lie? Hjorth allows the novel to open with gratitude for the safe and recognizable family life. The attentive reader – just glance at the title – will quickly understand that the idyll cannot last: Paula grows up in a Christian family, we could be in the 1950s or 60s, where father works in an accounting office and mother is at home. There is pickling and juicing, there is Sunday roast and whipping cream. It will turn out that it is the grandparents who set the conditions for the family’s life – and with so much authority that Paula’s parents comply, and even lie – in order to appear more religious and more successful than they really are. The day Paula discovers that her mother is not just embellishing reality but is actually lying in her weekly letters to her grandmother in Western Norway, her thoughts begin to spin: Why isn’t her mother satisfied with the life she has? Why is she lying about her daughter’s exam? Can Paula herself live a life of lies? Caricatured Christianity Confirmation is approaching and the time for a settlement. Paula meets a priest of the open kind, it must be said. That makes the story good, because Christianity in general, and the grandmother in particular, as a representative of the self-righteous and authoritarian side of the faith, becomes a caricature. Faith is blamed for the little brother’s fear of being happy, if happiness does not come from God. Paula herself is struck with shame every time she feels an existential connection with a vibrant, beautiful world – it must be forbidden, as it is so lovely. On the other hand, her best friend Karen, who comes from a non-Christian family, grows up with caring parents, they play the guitar and fill their lives with art. Will it be a little easy? I am left with the feeling of obvious opposites, there is black and there is white. Bears Vigdis Hjorth’s stamp At the same time, I like the book so much! Hjorth is not afraid to appear heartfelt when she describes the moment when a teenager discovers that the world is not only wonderful, but also difficult. It is serious when you feel that life is filled with meaning. And commitment. The almost suggestive repetitions of the passing of the seasons are lovely. So is Paula’s sense of kinship with a fir tree she can hide under or a rowboat she can float weightlessly in at night. In Hjorthian fashion, the text alternately draws on other authors. The references can be subtle or more visible, as when the priest says that all truth is not necessarily of the good, and refers to Ibsen’s wilderness and the happiness that you bring with you when you relieve a person of his life’s lie. Can Paula trump through her truth, when she knows it will hurt those closest to her? Anyone who wants to draw parallels to a writer’s freedom – and duty to write the truth – is perfectly entitled to do so. Once again, the relationship between mother and daughter becomes problematic. We also saw that in novels such as “Heritage and environment” and “Er mor død”. Yes, this is a classic Hjorth novel. No one who knows Vigdis Hjorth’s writing will be in any doubt that “Fifteen years. The revolutionary spring” is a book from her hand. news reviews Photo: Cappelen Damm Title: “Fifteen years”. The revolutionary spring” Author: Vigdis Hjorth Genre: Novel Publisher: Cappelen Damm Number of pages: 192 Date: August 2022
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“Fifteen years. The revolutionary spring” by Vigdis Hjorth – Reviews and recommendations
