Saturday 17 September 2011

Bjørnstad, Ketil "Villa Europa"

Bjørnstad, Ketil "Villa Europa" (Norwegian: Villa Europa) - 1992

An epic saga about a Norwegian family throughout the 20th century. The various members travel through Europe but always return to the villa of their grandmother, Very different kind of people, same as the rooms in the house that are all named after a certain country. This isn't just a historical read but touches so many other subjects, the way men and women lead different lives and how they get on with each other, for example.

Very interesting novel.

From the back cover (translated):

"In his rousing Norwegian family epic, Ketil Bjørnstad tells of the residents of a house high above the Oslo fjord: Villa Europa, in which Nina Ulven arranged the rooms at the end of the 19th century according to the countries her faithless husband traveled to. The sons, daughters and grandchildren of the family also leave their country over the decades, and yet almost all of them return. Above all, it is the women who keep the house, which is increasingly becoming the scene of conflicts between the generations and the sexes."

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