A Happy Boy, and a not-yet happy reader

This is another short post on a scandinavian novel. Bjørnson's "A Happy Boy", finished in 1860, this is a story about the coming-of-age of a boy named Oyvind. He approaches life with a positive outlook in general, but as his relationships expand and as his responsibilities stack up, he learns that the world has a colder edge to it, and that his place in caste creates barriers to his dreams. Weaving through this story is a budding love with a feisty girl named Marit.

My struggle doesn't have anything to do with the novel. It has to do with Kindle for Mac. I got the free download for my Macbook Pro and my iPod Touch. The cool thing about that software is that it syncs to where I was reading, whether I was using my computer or my iPod. Another great thing is that this book was downloaded for free (it's public domain) and I received it all but instantly. No shipping costs. A great way to try out this e-book phenomenon. No costs whatsoever unless you want to count your DSL hookup. And the devices you use.

The downside to an e-reader is that I felt limited by the one-screen-at-a-time functionality. Yes I know, a person can turn back to a previous page, but I had the sense that I was walking on a beam with my reading. As one who tends to back read, it was bothersome.

I found that the Kindle for iPod was tooled out better than for the Mac. You would think it would be the other way around. With the iPod I could "dog ear" pages, but I didn't experiment with that too much. With the iPod I could also write my own notes and attach them to the text, even in this free book.

The Mac version of the software would do well to build in some of these interactive tools. Full note functionality. Dictionary. Bookmarking. Since it's digital a concordance would be handy.

I will try again. The convenience of getting a book by download is wonderful, but the interface needs work, in my humble opinion.

Shusaku Endo, "Deep River"

This is the second book I've read by Endo. The first was an amazing look into the early days of Christianity in Japan titled "Silence." If you want to know what it's like to suffer for the sake of faith, in my context Christian faith, that book will strike you in the heart.

This book "Deep River" is more modern in context, but it brings up ancient faith and practices. A group of Japanese tourists travel to India as a tour group. The way Endo introduces them somehow reminds me of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," where the sitz im leben of each individual pilgrim is brought to bear.

But no direct comparisons can be drawn. This story belongs to Endo, and to every seeking, spiritually wondering and wandering person. At the center of the story is a woman named Mitsuko, who is appalled by deep spiritual ferver, and yet is attracted to it. Whether she moves closer to God through her experiences remains to be seen.

But coursing through the novel is the River Ganges, and in particular the spiritual interaction that everyone in the story has with it. It is accepting and constant, and like God, it draws all things to itself. It draws out of people emotions and actions that heretofore they wouldn't have considered.

This is a good story to use to think about the "suffering servant." It is also a good story to use when wanting to describe how confession happens inside the human heart when met by things like beauty, death and pathos.

Enough rambling. Hey, I actually used the word heretofore.

Kristin Lavransdatter

Lately I've been very interested in Scandinavian culture and history, especially Norwegian. I've read a collection of plays by Henrik Ibsen, earlier I read a book called "The Emigrants" by Wilhelm Moberg (Swedish). Now I'm reading the first of a trilogy by Sigrid Undsett, Kristin Lavransdatter.

It's set in 14th century Norway, during a time when a social and economic caste system was strictly followed. Men sought honor and prestige. Women did the best they could with the circumstances they were afforded, either by fate (God) or their man.

Kristin grows up in this first installment. She finds love (sometimes noticing it too late) and struggles between new loves and loyalty to her loving father. This story is a wonderful re-telling of the tangled mess that relationships become. There are power struggles, deep-set anxieties, fears and joys.

Sigrid Undsett was a wonderful storyteller. If you want a glimpse into Norwegian culture, history and contemporary caricatures, this is a great place to start. This work is a new translation, overdue according to the translator Tiina Nunnally. With her contributions the novel has a great contemporary feel.