Tarjei Vesaas (1897–1970)

The Birds by Norwegian poet and novelist Tarjei Vesaas was originally published in 1957, but due to it’s timeless subject matter, could easily have been written much more recently. Mattis, a mentally disabled man lives with his lonely sister, Hege, in a cottage on a lake. Mattis is often mocked and called “Simple Simon” but with his sister to look after him and his ability to ponder and observe nature he is generally happy. His one fear is that Hege will get fed up and leave him.

He is show more encouraged to act as a ferryman on the lake although he only ever has one customer, Jorgen, a lumberjack, that he brings home and who stays with them. Hege and Jorgen become lovers which disturbs Mattis and scares him as he feels his sister’s attention lessening and he comes up with an unusual plan to help make sense of the situation.

I loved this beautifully written, sensitive story. It is a moving portrait that has a soft sadness running through every page. There were parts where the story seemed in a lull but being given Mattis’ point of view, seeing how he processes life events and catching a glimpse of his inner world was unique and compelling. There was a feeling of inevitability as Mattis travels his own path, a simple soul in a complicated world. show less

Mattis lives in a remote cabin in Norway with his sister Hege. His developmental disabilities make it difficult for him to find work, and he spends most of his time in communion with nature. Hege supports them by knitting sweaters. While she cares deeply for Mattis and accepts the responsibility of looking after him, she can’t help resenting the impact on her lifestyle and personal freedom. Mattis picks up on some of this and fears Hege will leave him, but is unable to express this. show more Instead he obsesses on things he observes in the world around him, in the local village and in nature.

Eventually Mattis gets the idea that he could provide a service to his community by ferrying people across the lake. Despite there being no clear demand for this service Mattis is happy to spend the day rowing back and forth, and he takes pride in identifying as a ferryman. Hege is full of encouragement, welcoming this new-found time to herself. Mattis’ first customer is a lumberjack named Jorgen, whom he enthusiastically invites home for a meal. But Jorgen decides to stick around, and that was not in Mattis’ plan. Mattis is unable to make sense of this new order and, experiencing the story through his eyes, the reader must fill in the blanks. The direction of the story soon becomes apparent, and could have gone a few different ways. The ending was unexpected and left me pondering the lives of these characters beyond the final pages. show less

"Now it is Night.
"What can you do when everyone around you is strong and clever?
"Will never know."

Mentally deficient Mattis lives in a cottage by a lake with his sister Hege who supports them by knitting. She occasionally sends Mattis out in search of work as a farm hand, which he dreads because he knows he is different, and will not perform up to par, no matter how hard he tries. He frequently feels people are laughing at him.

One day Hege suggests, and Mattis agrees, that he work as a show more ferryman on the lake. He begins to spend his days at "work" in his rowboat on the lake, although there are never any passengers. Until one day there is. Mattis ferries Jorgen, a lumberjack, across the lake, and Jorgen becomes a boarder with Hege and Mattis. Soon Mattis begins to fear he will lose Hege to Jorgen.

This entire beautiful novel is narrated from the pov of Mattis, and Vesaas does a masterful job of channeling the mind of someone who sees the world in an entirely different way than most people. We see all Mattis's thoughts, experience nature through him, as well as sensing scorn from other people. I loved this book. Recommended for all.

4 1/2 stars show less

I'm having a hard time putting my finger on just why I loved this novel so much, but it really worked for me. Vesaas is Norwegian, and I'm finding that I really enjoy the straightforward, spare, and unsentimental story telling that I generally find when reading these Scandinavian novels. They are emotional, but not sentimental and I like that.

This is the story of Hege and Mattis, adult siblings who have lived together since their parents died when they were young. Mattis has a learning show more disability. He is functional, but often confused, seeing meaning in things like the flights of birds and misreading the words and actions of other people. He isn't capable of sustaining work, so Hege supports them by knitting sweaters. Hege is patient with Mattis and seems to take the time to understand his mind, but she is obviously unhappy and lonely. In the third part of the book, Mattis ferries a man, Jorgen, across the lake in his leaky boat. The man is a lumberjack looking for work who ends up living with Hege and Mattis, throwing their simple, lonely life into upheaval for Mattis and happiness for Hege.

This book was written in 1957, and I found Mattis's voice (the story is told from his point of view) to be remarkably believable and written with great insight and sympathy. Mattis's disability makes his words sometimes insightful, sometimes funny, and sometimes highly annoying. Vesaas accomplishes this with straightforward, simple language that is terse but somehow still highly descriptive.

I have another of Vesaas's books on my shelf, [The Ice Palace], and I'm looking forward to it. show less