Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

The Other Name by Jon Fosse

Blurb from Goodreads

The Other Name follows the lives of two men living close to each other on the west coast of Norway. The year is coming to a close and Asle, an aging painter and widower, is reminiscing about his life. He lives alone, his only friends being his neighbor, Åsleik, a bachelor and traditional Norwegian fisherman-farmer, and Beyer, a gallerist who lives in Bjørgvin, a couple hours’ drive south of Dylgja, where he lives. There, in Bjørgvin, lives another Asle, also a painter. He and the narrator are doppelgangers—two versions of the same person, two versions of the same life.

Written in hypnotic prose that shifts between the first and third person, The Other Name calls into question concrete notions around subjectivity and the self. What makes us who we are? And why do we lead one life and not another? Through flashbacks, Fosse deftly explores the convergences and divergences in the lives of both Asles, slowly building towards a decisive encounter between them both. A writer at the zenith of his career, with The Other Name, the first two volumes in his Septology, Fosse presents us with an indelible and poignant exploration of the human condition that will endure as his masterpiece.

Why I Want To Read It

Just like that, it is Monday again. I hope everyone is having a great start to the work week. I know. Monday is nearly everyone’s least favorite day of the week; I am among this group of people. I still feel sluggish even though I barely did anything over the weekend. This is mainly due to the heat which has been very oppressive this past few weeks. The past few weeks have been a preview of hell; at least that is the meme over in social media. And there seems to be no reprieve as this dry spell is forecasted to last for a couple more months, something I am not hoping for. Anyway, I hope you are experiencing better weather than we do here in the Philippines. I also hope you are starting the work week on a high note and that the rest of the week will go well for everyone. Here’s to a great work week ahead.

Today is also the first Monday of May. I hope that this month will be filled with good tidings and positive energy. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit. This is my with for the rest of the year. After spending two months reading exclusively the works of female writers, I am pivoting to regional literature, starting with European literature. I have already commenced this toward the end of my April reading journey as I read works of European Nobel Laureates in Literature. I am building on this momentum as I am currently reading my second novel by Icelandic writer and Nobel Laureate in Literature Halldór Laxness.

But back to the theme of this blogging update. Opening another week of book blogging is a fresh Goodreads Monday update; this has become a weekly tradition. Since I am in the midst of a foray into the works of Nobel Laureates in Literature, I have decided to align my Goodreads Monday update with this theme. As such, I am featuring the most recent awardee, Jon Fosse’s The Other Name. It was actually through the International Booker Prize that I first encountered the Norwegian writer. His novel A New Name: Septology VI-VII was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize. There seems to be a blurb surrounding him but obtaining a copy of his work was rather a challenge. A year later, he was announced the awardee of the Nobel Prize in Literature, further piquing my interest in his works.

The Other Name is actually the first book of a septet which was concluded by A New Name. This is one of the reasons why added the book to my growing reading list. Besides, I have not explored much of Norwegian literature and exploring Fosse’s works is a good opportunity to experience a part of the literary world that I have rarely been to. I am always looking forward to a new reading adventure, to immersing myself in new worlds. This is what Fosse and his oeuvre present to me. I just hope I get to obtain a copy of the book or any of Fosse’s book for that matter; I have just been to the bookstore yesterday but I wasn’t able to find any of his works. How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!