Vaim by Jon Fosse and Damion Searls (translator)

Vaim by Jon Fosse and Damion Searls (translator)
Buy Vaim by Jon Fosse and Damion Searls (translator) at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com (Paid links)
Category: Literary Fiction
Reviewer: Heather Magee
Summary: An eerie and strange whirlwind of a read set in a Norwegian fishing village, which sweeps its entranced reader along, like a fish on a hook.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 120	Date: October 2025
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1804271827
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All was strange... This haunting phrase encapsulates the pervading sense of otherworldliness which permeates this story set in Vaim, a fictional fishing village in Norway which paradoxically could not feel more real for Jatgeir and Eline, two of the protagonists caught in its melancholic current.

The perspectives of two different men, Jatgeir and Olaf, cohabit these pages, recounting their experiences with one Eline, who is irresistibly enigmatic and manages to transfix both of them at different points within the tale. She alone links these men together, and manipulates them with her red-hot energy, casting them into the shapes she desires like metals wrought in a blue flame: Jatgeir becomes unrecognisable and unreachable to his closest friend, Elias, and Olaf becomes an entirely different person (Frank) under her dominance. Due to Eline's enormous potential as a forceful, enigmatic woman in this story, I was disappointed by her lack of development or contouring; the characters in this book are more spectral than substantial. Having said this, the spectrality of the characters lends itself to the feeling of strangeness which is so central to the story.

Names (and the fluidity of identity) was, for me, the most fascinating motif in the story, as it seemed to symbolise the irreality of these figures in quite an uncanny way. Many characters' real names are subtly altered: Jatgeir's real name is Geir, and Eline's is actually Josefine. When Eline meets Olaf she inexplicably calls him Frank and he is named Frank thereafter. Names are stolen or reassigned: Jatgeir and Olaf both name their boats Eline, symbolising their desire for her. Because of this, some villagers in Vaim eventually begin calling Jatgeir by the name Eline instead of his own. As he muses, a boat is probably always a dream of something, and indeed, his dream of reunion with Eline comes hauntingly true when she leaves her previous husband and begins a new life with Jatgeir in Vaim.

Fosse's prose is unusual in the way it gives equal weight to both mundane tasks, such as buying a needle and thread, and emotionally charged, dramatic moments like Eline's arrival on Jatgeir's boat. This relentless narrative tone generates a powerful sense of helplessness shared by the characters and the reader alike. It seems that every character in this story is a victim in some way or another, and their tragedies unfold unyieldingly, propelled forward by the rapid cadence of the prose, punctuated by repeated yes's that mimic the crashing waves of fate sweeping the characters along before they (or the reader) can fully grasp their own circumstances.

Yes, he'd lived alone for years and years before he got himself a wife, as they say, got himself a wife, she says and she sighs, yes, he got himself a woman, yes…

Fate, or more specifically death, is always lurking nearby, claiming many of the central figures and imbuing the story with an eerie, spectral quality. There is some beautiful imagery in this book. The fishing villages, especially Vaim, have an unplaceable charm which is quaint yet magnetic, quiet yet somehow always stirring under the surface.

I would like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of this book. This was my first time reading Nobel Laureate Jon Fosse's work, but I am intrigued by his narrative style and will definitely be reading more from him. For another work of fiction by a Norwegian author with themes of identity and longing, read The Birds by Tarjei Vesaas.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Vaim by Jon Fosse and Damion Searls (translator) at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free. (Paid link)

You can read more book reviews or buy Vaim by Jon Fosse and Damion Searls (translator) at Amazon.com. (Paid link)

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