Gloria
Isaksen, Runo: Gloria
Aleks, 34 years old and recently divorced, wakes up the day after Boxing Day with an all-time hangover - to discover that his ten-year-old son, Isak, has disappeared. This sets the scene for Runo Isaksen’s third novel, the story of a life in flux as the past slips away and something new strives to take its place.
The story is mainly set in the vicinity of a large town on Norway's west coast. In addition to Aleks we are introduced to his mother, Ingrid, who for years has been in and out of psychiatric institutions, and Henry, to whom she once was married and who eventually develops paedophilic tendencies. The novel deftly links the stories of these characters’ lives to form a larger entity, though it does so with a detachment reminiscent of the media’s cynical exposure of human failings and shattered lives. This notwithstanding, the author shows compassion, empathy and insight into the ability to love and to stick together through thick and thin.
Praise for Gloria:
"Isaksen's novel is captivating and excitingly told ... it is also a piece of advanced literary art, where the different stories and themes comment on each other. There is every reason to take note of this novel"
(Stavanger Aftenblad)
First published: 2002, Aschehoug Fiction
Runo Isaksen: Biography and bibliography
