Armand V

New Directions proudly introduces two novels in English by the Norwegian master, who is without question, Norways bravest, most intelligent novelist (Per Petterson)Armand is a diplomat rising through the ranks of the Norwegian foreign office, but hes caught between his public duty to support foreign wars in the Middle East and his private disdain for Western intervention. He hides behind knowing, ironic statements, which no one grasps and which change nothing. Armands son joins the Norwegian SAS to fight in the Middle East, despite being specifically warned against such a move by his father, and this leads to catastrophic, heartbreaking consequences.Told exclusively in footnotes to an unwritten book, this is Solstads radically unconventional novel about how we experience the passing of time: how it fragments, drifts, quickens, and how single moments can define a life.