One sentence books scares me. Vaim by Jon Fosse, winner of the Nobel Prize in 2024, is one of those, although to be fair, it is more like a three-sentence book, one sentence for each of its three parts. How wrong I was. In stream-of-consciousness prose Fosse hypnotises his reader with the story of invisible, middle-aged Jatgeir, his beloved wooden boat and the enigmatic Eline amongst the deep fjords of Norway’s west coast. It has an almost otherworldly feel to it this novel and a timeless, disorientating quality which is part of its magic. Ideally, this short novel should be read in one sitting. I was reading it while juggling Christmas dinners and dishwasher emptying, not the ideal context. Find yourself a quiet corner on a rainy Sunday, immerse yourself and be enthralled.
The essence of Fosse’s writing is not necessarily what happens but how people feel while things happen. I dare you not to recognise the feeling of elated disbelief Jatgeir experiences when the secret love of his life, Eline, shows up on the dock one day begging to join him on his boat. Jatgeir can’t quite believe it. Is he dreaming? Is she a ghost or a figment of his imagination?
Eline is fleeing her husband Frank, whom we will hear from in the third part of the book. It turns out Eline is not quite the victim we first assume, but more like a siren with a mystical power over men.
Elias, Jatgeir’s friend, is the narrator of the second part of the book. Another lonely, slightly lost character who mourns the loss of his friend whom he hardly sees after Eline moved in. His sense of loss takes on a whole other dimension later in the story.
Fosse plays with our perception of time. Are we in 2025 or 1925? Or even further back? To add to our disorientation, he uses Bjørgvin the medieval name for Norway’s second largest city, Bergen. He plays with the sequence of events making you question your memory of what you’ve read earlier. Even names seem to bend and twist. Why is Frank called Frank when his real name is Olav?
Vaim is the first of a trilogy. I’m looking forward to the next two, curious to unlock Fosse’s elusive world. If he lets me, that is.
Vaim by Jon Fosse is translated by Daimon Searls and published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, 120 pages.
