Dag Solstad, modernista norvegese

Traduzione di Det Plutselige Øyeblikk (Spiraler) e Vi vil Ikke gi Kaffekjelen Vinger (Svingstol)

Abstract

The first part is dedicated to an overview of the literary production of Dag Solstad, one of the greatest living Norwegian writers and intellectuals. His works can be divided into five thematic groups, the first of which corresponds to the modernist phase of the 1960s. Subsequently, the attention shifts to this early period, showing how the two debut works, Spiraler (Spirals; 1965) and Svingstol (Swivel Chair; 1967), have different thematic and content features whereby the former can be read in opposition to the latter. The short stories of the first collection, Spiraler, are closely linked to the poetics of Symbolism. The characters seem to be immersed in a dream or, rather, in a nightmare. The recurring themes are the lack of contact, the loneliness of mankind, and the absurdity of life. In Svingstol, on the other hand, Solstad seems to reposition himself. The closed symbolic world of the first collection opens up, so that concrete reality can be accepted. Finally, this dialectic is made visible through the unpublished translations of two short stories contained in the respective collections. In "Det plutselige øyeblikk" (The sudden moment) the protagonist experiences the modern life of the big city, where people come and go frantically and from which he is excluded. From a stylistic point of view, it is important to note the presence of very long sentences that here serves to convey the protagonist’s feeling of loss in the turmoil of the big city and will later become a peculiarity of Solstad's writing style. "Vi vil ikke gi kaffekjelen vinger" (We do not want to give the coffee pot wings) is placed at the opening of Svingstol and acts as a programmatic manifesto valid for the entire work. The text represents an awakening in the direction of everyday life, where existence is defined through the practical use of things, as can be guessed from the final description of the coffee pot.