Saturday, November 15, 2008

The Scoundrel Days of Hobo Highbrow by Pal H. Christiansen

The Scoundrel Days of Hobo Highbrow by Pal H. Christiansen is a Norwegian novel that describes the life of Highbrow a failed [or failing] novelist who misinterprets social situations he's a part of. The writing and translation are excellent. Lyrical but at the same time nicely compact. Highbrow is an intriguing character even if he's not a terribly sympathetic one. I did keep wondering just what he was going to get wrong next. My major issue with the book is the plot. It really doesn't seem to go anywhere. Characters just wander through. His girlfriend becomes pregnant so there's quite a bit about him thinking that she cheated on him but as a reader we don't find it credible.

Mildly recommended.

Note: this was provided for review purposes.

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