By Jan Kristoffer Dale
The short stories in Worker's Hands have to do with those who have fallen by the wayside, who did not manage to get through school, and dropped out. The unskilled. Those who never…
The short stories in Worker's Hands have to do with those who have fallen by the wayside, who did not manage to get through school, and dropped out. The unskilled. Those who never left home. Those who never found anyone to settle with, and those who were abandoned. The short stories all take place in the same environment and deal with ordinary people’s lives and work. All of them are toiling away with their own problems: love, economy and themselves. Some are trapped in situations they cannot extricate themselves from, while others have to choose who they want to be and how they want to live.
REVIEWS:
‘Working people should have strong hands and drink normal beer. These are their most distinctive features, according to debut novelist Jan Kristoffer Dale. He writes short stories from the factory floor, from the inside.’ Aftenposten – Books of the year 2016
‘The short stories’ eye for the normal, non-sovereign individual – their descriptions of life and work as they are lived – make them the year’s best debut.’ Klassekampen – Books of the year 2016
‘Commendable short story debut from the perspective of the lower classes.’ Stavanger Aftenblad – 5/6 stars
‘Dale’s short stories are apparently simple in their construction. Additionally, the best of them have their Carver-esque moments – shifts in the atmosphere, quietly lifting the narrative to something more than it was when it started. All of them are tangible, free of any embellishment, metaphors included [...] The collection is built up with a loose inner coherence: some names reappear, the locations don’t change, the atmosphere is recognisable. To my eyes, what is especially nice about it is that the quality and intensity of the material increases with every short story.’ NRK
‘The narrative style has an agility to it, and the entire short-story collection stands out as warm and credible portraits of utterly normal lives.’ Fædrelandsvennen – 5/6 stars
‘The language is sparse, the descriptions sincere and the dialogue believable and good; the use of dialect also works well. The author does not embellish his themes, instead showing us what it’s all about! Recommended!’ Tara – 5/6 stars
‘Worker's Hands is a particularly elegant and promising debut.’ Dag og Tid
‘Without the excessive use of adjectives, the unassuming and simply written style underpinning this little collection of short stories really tugs at the heartstrings.’ Nordjyske Stiftstidende – 5/6 stars
‘These little short stories by Norwegian author Jan Kristoffer Dale are delicate and subdued in a cool, Helle Helle/Peder Fredrik Jensen-like way [...] A few generations ago it was more common to have jobs and wives of working men as those featured in these short stories. But with needlepoint precision, Dale’s brief accounts perhaps show why it’s no longer like this. I hope that those men will read it, too.’Information
‘The stories with which the reader is presented are well rounded and often contain moving, sharply drawn scenes. I will not forget, for example, the couple that lie down in a trapping pit that still holds the moose’s body heat; they stay there in an awkward attempt to assuage the woman’s yearning for the north, to allow her to feel at home. The scene is sensitive and vividly described, and is believable.’ Morgenbladet
‘Without being too explicit, Dale points towards the reasons why daily life has become what is it, why some people drop out of school, why some never leave home. It turns this into something more than a realistic depiction of warts-and-all Norwegian life. The author doesn’t embellish his subjects, he shows us what it’s all about.’ Vårt Land
«Arbeidsfolk skal ha arbeidsnever og drikke vanlig øl. Det er det viktigste kjennetegnet, ifølge debutanten Jan Kristoffer Dale. Han skriver noveller fra gølvet, fra innsiden.»
«Novellenes blikk for det vanlige, ikkesuverene mennesket – beskrivelsene deres av levd liv og arbeid – gjør dem til årets debut.»
«Det som slår meg aller sterkest i denne lille, men uhyre sterke novellesamlingen, er ømheten for det vanlige, ikke-suverene mennesket. Novellene beskriver ganske enkelt levd liv, og for eksempel avslutningsnovellen er en stillferdig hyllest til betydningen vi har for hverandre, til avhengigheten vår av andre mennesker. Jeg kan ikke få sagt mange nok ganger at det har en verdi å opprette flere kontaktpunkter mellom det litterære univers og det livet størstedelen av befolkningen lever. Dale har skrevet elegante og dempede bidrag til dette.»
«Arbeidsnever har blitt en av de fineste novellesamlingene innen 'røff bygde-realisme', siden Kyrre Andreassen debuterte med Det er her du har venna dine, i 1997. Og det er jo en god stund siden.»
[score] «Tiltalende novelledebut i underklasseperspektiv.»
«Dales noveller er tilsynelatende enkle i sin oppbygging. De beste har i tillegg sine 'carverske' øyeblikk av stemningsskifter som lavmælt løfter fortellingen til noe mer enn den var i starten. Alle er konkrete, fri for all slags pynt, metaforer inkludert.
[score] «Fortellerstilen har en ledighet ved seg, og hele novellesamlingen trer fram som varme og troverdige portretter av helt vanlige liv.» Torborg Igland, Fædrelandsvennen
5 av 6 stjerner «Språket er knapt, beskrivelsene inderlige og dialogene troverdige og gode, dialekt-grepet fungerer også godt. Forfatteren utbroderer ikke tematikken, i stedet viser han oss hva det handler om! Anbefales!»
«Arbeidsnever er ein særs heilstøypt og lovande debut.»
5 av 6 stjerner «Stilfærdigt og enkelt skrevet uden overdreven brug af tillægsord rammer denne lille novellesamling præcist og lige i hjertekulen.»
«De er fine, stilfærdige på den fede, Helle Helle- og Peder Frederik Jensen-agtige måde, disse små noveller af den norske forfatter Jan Kristoffer Dale. [...] For et par generationer siden var der oftere job og kvinder til arbejdsmænd som dem i novellerne. Men Dales små beretninger viser med sylespids præcision, hvorfor der måske ikke er det nu. Jeg håber, at mændene læser med.»
«Fortellingene leseren blir servert er avrundede, og de inneholder ofte skarpt tegnede, rørende scener. Jeg kommer for eksempel til å huske paret som legger seg i en elggrop som fortsatt har elgens kroppsvarme; de blir liggende der, i et litt keitete forsøk på å døyve kvinnens lengsel nordover, få henne til å føle seg hjemme. Scenen er vart og levende beskrevet, den er troverdig.»
«Arbejdsnæver er en flot prosadebut. Historierne er sikkert og stilrent fortalt.»Mathias Anker Kure, Kulturkapellet
