Tales of the Night (Danish: Fortællinger om Natten) is a story collection by Danish author Peter Høeg. It comprises eight short stories that are about "Love and its conditions on the night of 19 March 1929".[1]
 First edition | |
| Author | Peter Høeg |
|---|---|
| Original title | Fortællinger om Natten |
| Translator | Barbara Haveland |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Published | 1997 (The Harvill Press) |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 308 |
| ISBN | 9781860464201 |
| OCLC | 38435233 |
Publication history edit
- Fortællinger om Natten 1990, Denmark, Rosinante ISBN 9788716146359[2]
- Tales of the Night 1997, England, Harvill Press ISBN 9781860464201[3]
- Tales of the Night 1998, USA, Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 9780374272548[4]
Contents[3] edit
- Journey Into a Dark Heart
- Homage to Bournoville
- The Verdict on the Right Honourable Ignatio Landstad Rasker, Lord Chief Justice
- An Experiment in the Constancy of Love
- Portrait of the Avant-garde
- Pity for the Children of Vaden Town
- Story of a Marriage
- Reflection of a Young Man in the Balance
Reception edit
Jay Parini, in a review of Tales of the Night for The New York Times, wrote "Throughout this volume, Hoeg attacks the conventionality of Danish life, with its bureaucracy and rigid sense of duty, its reflexive worship of the institutions of science, law, commerce and art. When his urge to accumulate details and points of view does not drown the narrative, the stories blaze with intelligence and passion. But only in the bizarre, affecting tale of Ignatio Rasker's decision to throw everything away for love does Hoeg live up to his full potential."[5] The Denver Post found "Though sometimes self-consciously philosophical, reflecting the author's youth and desire to declare himself a cerebral sort, every tale in this collection has its own fascinations."[6]
Tales of the Night has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly,[7] Kirkus Reviews,[8] Booklist,[9] and Library Journal.[10]
References edit
- ^ Peter Høeg (March 1990). Tales of the Night. The Harvill Press.
- ^ Fortællinger om natten. Online Computer Library Center. OCLC 24414242. Retrieved 12 April 2018 – via worldcat.org.
- ^ a b Tales of the night. Online Computer Library Center. OCLC 38435233. Retrieved 12 April 2018 – via worldcat.org.
- ^ Tales of the night. Online Computer Library Center. OCLC 636824375. Retrieved 12 April 2018 – via worldcat.org.
- ^ Jay Parini (1 March 1998). "Books: Mirrors Within Mirrors". New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Book Review: Tales of the Night". Denver Post. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Tales of the Night". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. 29 December 1997. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
Despite a certain stiffness in the prose (the fault of the translation, perhaps), the deep despair and foreboding of well-intentioned Europeans victimized by the very culture that was supposed to educate them is often painfully credible.
- ^ "Tales of the Night". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. 15 December 1997. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
An accomplished and provocative debut collection from one of the world's least predictable writers.
- ^ "Tales of the night". catalog.wccls.org. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
The earlier efforts, including this collection of short stories, reveal a wonderfully talented writer, rich with ideas and imagination, struggling to come to terms with his craft.
- ^ "Tales of the Night". kcls.bibliocommons.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
Hoeg's use of a polished 19th-century prose style to examine 20th-century issues strongly recalls the work of fellow Dane Isak Dinesen.