One of Jon Fosse’s most acclaimed novels, Boathouse is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator leading a largely hermit-like existence until he unexpectedly encounters a long-lost childhood friend and his wife. Told partially in a stream-of-consciousness style and with an atmosphere reminiscent of a gripping crime novel, Boathouse slowly unravels the story of a love triangle leading to jealousy, betrayal, and eventually death.
Jon Fosse
Tove Breistein
Jon Fosse is widely considered one of the world’s most important living writers, with an ability to touch readers across time and place. Born in 1959 in Strandebarm, a small village in the western part of Norway, he lives today in the Grotten, an honorary residence in Oslo bestowed for life by the King of Norway, as well as in Hainburg, Austria, and Frekhaug, Norway. Fosse is an unusually prolific writer. He debuted in 1983, and has since published novels, volumes of poetry, essay collections, and children’s books. His work has now been translated into more than 40 languages and his plays performed more than a thousand times around the world. In whatever genre he is writing in, Fosse’s language is poetic and existential, rhythmic and lyrical.
