Reviews

De dødes tjern by André Bjerke

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themysterymaven's review against another edition

4.0

I stumbled upon this little book in my library’s new releases section, and it’s one of those finds that turns into a whole story of its own. Reading the introduction by the publishing company, responsible for its recent re-release, is an absolute must. Author Bjerke began his works not only at an impressively young age, but also at a time when the Nazis occupied Norway. Never known for its expansive literary offerings in the thriller genre, his tales of suspense, horror, and mystery are considered some of the country’s first and finest. Far be it from new, The Lake of the Dead was written in 1942, and even amongst current contests and polls, it consistently remains no less than third in rankings of the country’s top thrillers!

The writing is sublimely wonderful, and the story of friends working to solve the mysterious suicide of another at a lake cabin, fortified by a hundred-year-old almost urban-legend like tale of murder and savagery, is witty and cunningly crafted. It’s like reading Jackson, Conan Doyle, and Poe.

Is the lake really cursed, said to drag its unsuspecting victims to their deaths? Or is a very flesh and able-bodied murderer on the loose, setting scenes of suicides that are but smoke and mirrors? Much like Stoker, Bjerke plays with the dichotomy of supernatural versus science, where characters firmly set in their beliefs of either the paranormal or the psychological must team together to solve a crime.

If you enjoy the classics and the masters, I highly suggest you read this novel and experience one of Norway’s celebrated thriller authors!

jobis89's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

3.5

darkskybooks's review against another edition

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3.0

A Norwegian classic. I have been living in Norway for over 10 years now, but I have read an embarrassingly small amount of Norwegian literature (largely just Jo Nesbø and Asbjørnsen & Møe). The Lake of the Dead is probably the most well known Norwegian horror novel (Norway really doesn't have much in the way of a literary horror scene), but other than a very limited printing in the UK close to when it was first published has largely unavailable in English (and that early translation suffered from a degree of anglicization of names and idioms). This new English translation is a good chance to explore this Scandi classic, so my partner picked me up a copy.

First things first, this is very much a novel of its times. There is a general dismissiveness towards women through large parts of the novel, but that is a feature of many novels from this period. In many ways, this one is better than most, allowing one of the heroic characters to be a woman. The novel leans heavily on psychoanalysis, which gets a bit dry at times, but allows for an intriguing level of ambiguity. The story focusses on a myth around a cabin which is apparently haunted by the ghost of a murderer. The main protagonists are largely dismissive of this idea, but the possibility of supernatural influences is increasingly opened up as the story progresses.

The novel crosses over into the realm of crime novel in many places, but its ambiguity towards the supernatural separates it from the more standard crime fair of the time. Andre Bjerke is obviously well read and makes strong allusions to other literary works throughout the novel. An intriguing read, which if read with it historical context in mind is worth a gander