Getting hold of “Sagaen om Isfolket” at the library is not easy. The books are simply read in shreds. In the literal sense. The story of Margit Sandemo is a saga in itself. The Swedish-Norwegian author was loved by the fans, who in the years between 1982 and 1989 waited in excitement outside the kiosk for each new release. The paperbacks were just as passionately despised by (the male) literary critics. Pact with Satan The Ice People live in an isolated valley in Trondhjem’s county. In every generation there is a person who is a descendant of Tengel the Evil. He made a pact with Satan in exchange for special abilities. “Son of the Sun” (first volume in the trilogy “The Curse of the Iceman”) is a so-called “prequel”. Hilde Susan Jægtnes had a small breakthrough with the novel “I founded the United States”. We find ourselves in the Lord’s year 1501, i.e. a few generations before Silje Arngrimsdatter, with whom Sandemo’s saga opened. WRITER BACKGROUND: Hilde Susan Jægtnes (b. 1973) writes both books and screenplays for film and TV. In 2017, she was nominated for the Amanda Prize for the feature film “Hjertestart”, and in 2021 for the Brage Prize for the novel “I founded the United States”. Photo: Thomas Brun / NTB Steamy eroticism Central to the plot is 18-year-old Hanna Brunodatter, who has inherited her supernatural abilities from her grandmother. As with all those “afflicted”, there is a battle going on inside her between good and evil. At the same time, she is filled with a fierce, nascent sexual desire. The erotic was absolutely essential for Sandemo, and Jægtnes has decided to deliver on that part. She learns about eroticism from the start: Mysterious shaman Also the two brothers Emil and Finno, the same age as Hanna, struggle with a “stiff limb” almost every chapter. In an age where much of contemporary culture appears rather sleazy, these overdoses of erotica are, at least on paper, refreshing. A scary and sexy “skating fin” then enters the scene. What does this Sami shaman with the rune bomb really want in the ice people’s valley? And is it really a bear that is to blame for animals, and soon also people, being found killed with their hearts ripped out of their bodies? NORWAY’S SERIES QUEEN: Margit Sandemo (1924-2018) wrote 47 books in the “Sagaen om isfolket” series. The books have a circulation of 6 million in Norway alone, and a staggering 37 million internationally. “Son of the Sun” is a so-called “prequel” to the series. Photo: Lisbeth David-Andersen / news Declamerer Håvamål Jægtnes spices up the plot with sections about Norwegian history, so that the reader, just like the cartoon Asterix, gets a bit of history in the bargain: Excerpts from the Norse god and wisdom poems Håvamål, as the chieftain in the valley is fond of declaiming. She also adds spices such as wood carving and lathing techniques, and it’s never wrong! Jægtnes seems determined to take the reader into a parallel reality, also purely linguistically. Hanna’s number one object of desire, the chieftain’s son and woodcutter Emil, has “deep furrows” on his mouth. Hanna “closes her eyes”. A short scream “released from her”, and she “stifled a sigh”. In general, the clichés come so close together that “Son of the Sun” may end up with turkey status, in the same way as Aune Sand’s film “Dis”. Some of the exchanges are so far removed from what any living person would think of saying, neither in the late Middle Ages, nor in our time. In with a teaspoon All these strange words and phrases are a bit of fun, in a way, perhaps especially read on a Friday night, after consuming a few staup with mead. It is worse then that the reader gets most of it forced in with a teaspoon. The love affair between Emil and Hanna is to be started, only to be interrupted several times. Hanna’s relationship with her mother is bad, which will also be repeated until even the slow among us have caught on. In the afterword, Jægtnes says that “Sagaen om isfolket” saved her through secondary school. That serial literature can have this function for a young person is easy to identify with (I got through secondary school with the help of Morgan Kane and Agatha Christie.) It is therefore a genuine interest that underlies it. Margit Sandemo died in 2018, aged 94. She managed to write 185 books and has sold around 40 million books at home and abroad. news met her in her writing room in Skåne in 2010. The motivation to continue this universe does not feel speculative, as I experienced it when I read Karin Smirnoff’s retelling of the Millennium books by Stieg Larsson. But Jægtnes’ biggest sin, and it must be a mortal sin in this genre, is simply that she becomes too elaborate. Margit Sandemo had a habit of putting a full stop after about 250 pages. Here, winter and spring (and 420 pages) pass before we finally get our hunches confirmed about who is behind all the misery in the ice people’s valley. Two more volumes have been promised. If this series is to be as popular as the original, there will have to be austerity measures. news reviewer Photo: Vigmostad Bjørke Title: “Son of the Sun” Author: Hilde Susan Jægtnes Number of pages: 424 Published: 20 February 2024 Publisher: Vigmostad Bjørke ISBN: 9788241963100 Hi! I read and review literature in news. Please also read my review of “Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck, “Details” by Ia Genberg, or Franz Kafka’s “The Process” translated by Jon Fosse.
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“Son of the Sun” by Hilde Susan Jægtnes – Reviews and recommendations
