Anger

Roy Jacobsen's novel Virgo was published in 1988. It was very well received and praised for its deep psychological insights. The prize-winning author had not quite finished what he wanted to do and now, 23 years later, he has written a completely new novel but on the same theme – he calls it Anger. Hans Larsen is 72 years old and just released from prison after a long spell inside. He brings with him a letter that has been waiting for him, unopened, all that time. It is from his daughter. Now, as he reads it for the first time, he learns just what he feared. His wife is dead and his daughter has never forgiven him for anything. Anger is an existential drama, in which Jacobsen has borrowed narrative structure from psychological crime fiction. The old offender has been granted three years parole and walks out into a personal springtime: a beautiful woman desires him. She is well off and lives in a large house, so Hans moves in with her. His daughter doesn't know that her father is freed and cannot herself break out of her routine – she stays in the same town and tries to build a life as well as she can. These are biting, beautiful life stories of a handful of people and, in particular, an exceptionally powerful recreation of a father-daughter relationship. A great novel, which occupies a key position in Roy Jacobsen's rich literary output.

‘Elegant, raw and full of humanity … A dark novel that lights up the autumn.’
Haugesunds Avis

‘Jacobsen is a skilful writer who recreates grim human lives and apparently grey existences in a way which makes it hard to stay uninvolved.’
Dagens Næringsliv

‘As a bonus the reader is offered the joy of watching an experienced writer … enter into face-to-face combat with a younger, more energetic version himself, sentence by sentence – and win almost every round. It couldn’t be more gripping.’
Dagbladet

‘With Anger, Jacobsen has strengthened his position as one of the nation’s best-loved writers.’
GD