2023-12-13 – Vesterheim Bokprat: A House in Norway by Vigdis Hjorth (Online)

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Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College's Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director, facilitates a regular bokprat (book group), discussing Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. The December bokprat features Vigdis Hjorth's A House in Norway.

This contemporary novel tells the story of Alma, a divorced textile artist who makes a living from weaving standards for trade unions and marching bands. She lives alone in an old villa and rents out an apartment in her house to supplement her income. She is overjoyed to be given a more creative assignment, to design a tapestry for an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage in Norway. She soon finds that it is a much more daunting task than she had anticipated. Meanwhile, a Polish family moves into her apartment, and their activities become a challenge to her unconscious assumptions and her self-image as a good feminist and an open-minded liberal. Is it possible to reconcile the desire to be tolerant and altruistic with the imperative need for creative and personal space?

Supplies: 

 Additional Supplies:

Students will need to provide a computer, laptop, or tablet with a camera and mic as well as a fast, reliable internet connection.

Special Instructions:  

When registering for the class, please make sure to use the mailing and email addresses you'd like the Zoom meeting invitations sent to. You will receive links to the Zoom sessions by email sometime during the week prior to the class. If this class is a gift, please sign up with the recipient's email address or be prepared to forward all communications.

Enrollment Deadline: 

November 30, 2023

Click here to learn more about instructor Dr. Maren Anderson Johnson.