Professor Andersen's Night
An exploration of morality and inaction in modern life
Dag Solstad author Agnes Scott Langeland translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:1st Nov '12
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
In Professor Andersen's Night, a professor grapples with his moral choices after witnessing a murder but failing to report it, leading to profound reflections.
On Christmas Eve, 55-year-old Professor Pål Andersen finds himself alone in his living room, sipping coffee and cognac. As he gazes out the window, he witnesses a horrifying scene: a man strangling a woman in the apartment across the street. Instead of acting, he becomes paralyzed by indecision, grappling with the moral implications of what he has seen. This moment sets off a chain of events that forces him to confront his own apathy and the consequences of inaction.
Days turn into a blur as the professor wrestles with his conscience, ultimately deciding to escape his troubling thoughts by visiting a local sushi bar. However, fate has other plans as he unexpectedly comes face to face with the very murderer he failed to report. This encounter propels him into a deeper reflection on morality, rebellion, and the human condition. Professor Andersen's Night challenges readers to consider their own responses to injustice and the complexities of moral choice.
Through flinty prose and a gripping narrative, the author explores themes of existential dread and societal critique. The story is not just a murder mystery but a profound examination of whether individuals, like Professor Andersen, would remain passive in the face of evil. Professor Andersen's Night serves as a compelling reminder of our responsibilities to ourselves and to others, even in the most uncomfortable circumstances.
He’s a kind of surrealistic writer, very strange novels. I think that’s serious literature -- Haruki Murakami
Without question Norway's bravest, most intelligent novelist -- Per Petterson, author of Our Stealing Horses
Dag Solstad, Norway's most distinguished living writer, is a clear-eyed moralist who takes an existentialist's interest in the compromises, evasions and accommodations we make to get through life... Wryly humorous and needle-sharp in skewering pretension, Solstad is unlike anyone currently writing in English... A deeply rewarding novel * Sunday Times *
[An] exquisitely composed novel... Dag Solstad is an unflinching explorer of the plight of educated humankind in the face of the inexplicable whose artistry matches his ambitious theme -- Paul Binding * Independent *
At times dark and moving, even, on occasion, unexpectedly funny, Professor Andersen's Night tackles a premise which would prove just as intriguing in a pacey thriller... It is visceral in its investigations into the derailing of one man's life in all its sticky, existential glory * Scotland on Sunday *
ISBN: 9780099578420
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 10mm
Weight: 117g
160 pages