Septology: The other nameTE.01

I started reading Septology by Jon Fosse after reading a review of it on a news website. I thought I might as well give it a chance and see whether I liked the book or not. It turned out that I really didn’t like it, even though I wanted to, and I only managed to read until about page 30. After that, I stopped reading it altogether for almost a year.

After a year, I thought maybe I should give it a second try, but that didn’t work either. But then I thought, third time’s the charm, and this time I actually ended up really loving the book, even though, in principle, almost nothing happens in it. I’ve already finished the first part and started on the second part.

What I find interesting about the book is that almost nothing happens in the traditional sense. There isn’t really a fastmoving plot or a lot of dramatic events. Instead, the book focuses heavily on the main character’s thoughts, memories and everyday experiences.

His thoughts often move back and forth between the present and the past, and sometimes the same ideas or phrases are repeated over and over again. At first, I found this extremely frustrating and repetitive, which is probably why I couldn’t get past page 30 the first two times I tried reading it. But on my third attempt, something changed. I started to understand the rhythm of the writing. The repetition no longer felt boring to me; instead, it became almost hypnotic and meditative.

The writing has a very distinctive rhythm. It almost feels like a rosary, with certain thoughts and phrases returning again and again. There’s something very calming about it, and reading the book can almost feel like meditation. It feels less like reading a story about events and more like being inside someone’s thoughts.

I also really like the sense of loneliness in the book. The main character spends a lot of time alone, and there is something very quiet and intimate about the way he observes the world around him. Even though very little happens, the book somehow creates a strong atmosphere. It’s the kind of book where you have to slow down and let yourself get absorbed in it.

What I find especially interesting is that the things I disliked about the book at first are now some of the things I love most about it.