Nils Vik's Last Day
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Description
Book Introduction
- A word from MD
- What we will look forward to on our last dayThe protagonist, who has lived his entire life as a ferry driver in a small village on the Norwegian coast, prepares for his last day in silence and tranquility.
A novel that slowly examines life and death, looking back on the lives of his beloved wife, his pet dog, and the many people he carried on the ferry.
Although it is a short novel, it contains the entirety of one person's enormous life.
January 24, 2025. Novel/Poetry PD Kim Yu-ri
★ Recommended by poet Shin Yong-mok and novelist Choi Jin-young
★ Winner of the 2023 Brage Literary Award, Norway's most prestigious literary award
★ Translations confirmed for 19 countries worldwide immediately upon publication
“Life is finite, and this novel is infinitely beautiful.” _Goodreads Review
“Rather than reading a novel, I felt like I was having a long conversation with a unique and noble person.
“It is a lonely and beautiful novel.” _Choi Jin-young (novelist)
A novel that examines 'death' so carefully and beautifully.
"The Last Day of Niels Vik" deals with a subject that can be said to be a fundamental question for all human beings.
death.
A major event and final destination in life that everyone experiences without exception.
This novel is the story of a single day written from the perspective of Nils Vik, who is on the verge of death.
It carefully tells us the truth that life is ultimately a journey toward death, and the question of how to face death is the same as the question of how to live life.
This is a full-length novel published by Frode Gruyten, a representative writer of modern Norwegian literature, after more than 10 years, and won the Brage Literary Prize in the year it was published.
The novel is set in a small, quiet town on the coast of a Norwegian fjord.
Nils Vik, a ferry driver, spent his life transporting countless lives on his ships.
Even on his last day, Nils sails the fjords as usual, but this day the passengers are a little special.
Those who once boarded Nils's ship, but are now gone, board the ship one by one.
The dead constantly tell stories to Nils.
About his own death, in fact, about his own life.
The voices of all those ordinary people who lived true to life in their own way begin to fill the ship.
On his last day, Nils looked back on his life and realized that it was ultimately the sum total of all the lives that had passed him by.
In 『The Last Day of Nils Vik』, the deaths of people who lived closely or loosely connected to each other are described in a calm style.
It's perhaps no surprise that this novel is filled with dazzling, stunningly beautiful moments.
Facing a death is like looking into the life a person has lived, and the most vivid trace a life leaves behind is usually love.
As the local press commented, “It is a novel about death, but at its core, it is about life,” ultimately, “The Last Day of Nils Vik” is a novel written with love and awe for life, and a story about a love that will be remembered forever.
★ Winner of the 2023 Brage Literary Award, Norway's most prestigious literary award
★ Translations confirmed for 19 countries worldwide immediately upon publication
“Life is finite, and this novel is infinitely beautiful.” _Goodreads Review
“Rather than reading a novel, I felt like I was having a long conversation with a unique and noble person.
“It is a lonely and beautiful novel.” _Choi Jin-young (novelist)
A novel that examines 'death' so carefully and beautifully.
"The Last Day of Niels Vik" deals with a subject that can be said to be a fundamental question for all human beings.
death.
A major event and final destination in life that everyone experiences without exception.
This novel is the story of a single day written from the perspective of Nils Vik, who is on the verge of death.
It carefully tells us the truth that life is ultimately a journey toward death, and the question of how to face death is the same as the question of how to live life.
This is a full-length novel published by Frode Gruyten, a representative writer of modern Norwegian literature, after more than 10 years, and won the Brage Literary Prize in the year it was published.
The novel is set in a small, quiet town on the coast of a Norwegian fjord.
Nils Vik, a ferry driver, spent his life transporting countless lives on his ships.
Even on his last day, Nils sails the fjords as usual, but this day the passengers are a little special.
Those who once boarded Nils's ship, but are now gone, board the ship one by one.
The dead constantly tell stories to Nils.
About his own death, in fact, about his own life.
The voices of all those ordinary people who lived true to life in their own way begin to fill the ship.
On his last day, Nils looked back on his life and realized that it was ultimately the sum total of all the lives that had passed him by.
In 『The Last Day of Nils Vik』, the deaths of people who lived closely or loosely connected to each other are described in a calm style.
It's perhaps no surprise that this novel is filled with dazzling, stunningly beautiful moments.
Facing a death is like looking into the life a person has lived, and the most vivid trace a life leaves behind is usually love.
As the local press commented, “It is a novel about death, but at its core, it is about life,” ultimately, “The Last Day of Nils Vik” is a novel written with love and awe for life, and a story about a love that will be remembered forever.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
Nils Vik's Last Day… 7
Translator's Note … 273
Translator's Note … 273
Detailed image
Into the book
Everything was old and ready to collapse.
Maybe everything was made to wear out and disappear.
--- p.21
He remembers everything.
Without leaving out a single one.
--- p.79
I deliberately didn't turn on the lights in the house, fearing that the feeling of absence would be heightened if the house was bright.
At least for now the house was filled with darkness.
--- p.86
Nothing happens the same way and no two days are the same.
It is only this last day that all the days seem the same.
--- p.118
Sometimes the world is beautiful.
--- p.134
No one wants to die alone.
Everyone wants to leave this world surrounded by loved ones.
--- p.140
He always loved this simple act.
Climbing the stairs and entering the bedroom, I see her curled up in bed, sleeping with her hands clasped under her cheeks.
"Is that you?" she asked without looking back.
Yeah, it's me.
--- p.188
You are an indispensable person in this world.
You are as essential to me as my morning bread and my evening sleep.
--- p.250
It was the day of my mother's funeral.
As people carried the coffin out, I saw my father tapping my mother's coffin with his wedding ring-wearing finger.
It was as if he was saying this to his mother.
See you soon.
--- p.266
He was born into this world and came here step by step.
To be born into this world is to be grateful for having lived long enough to know what wind, sea, land, hate and love are, and to say goodbye to them.
--- p.268
He kissed Martha's cold forehead and resolved to live every moment of the rest of his life remembering her.
And he kept that promise.
Maybe everything was made to wear out and disappear.
--- p.21
He remembers everything.
Without leaving out a single one.
--- p.79
I deliberately didn't turn on the lights in the house, fearing that the feeling of absence would be heightened if the house was bright.
At least for now the house was filled with darkness.
--- p.86
Nothing happens the same way and no two days are the same.
It is only this last day that all the days seem the same.
--- p.118
Sometimes the world is beautiful.
--- p.134
No one wants to die alone.
Everyone wants to leave this world surrounded by loved ones.
--- p.140
He always loved this simple act.
Climbing the stairs and entering the bedroom, I see her curled up in bed, sleeping with her hands clasped under her cheeks.
"Is that you?" she asked without looking back.
Yeah, it's me.
--- p.188
You are an indispensable person in this world.
You are as essential to me as my morning bread and my evening sleep.
--- p.250
It was the day of my mother's funeral.
As people carried the coffin out, I saw my father tapping my mother's coffin with his wedding ring-wearing finger.
It was as if he was saying this to his mother.
See you soon.
--- p.266
He was born into this world and came here step by step.
To be born into this world is to be grateful for having lived long enough to know what wind, sea, land, hate and love are, and to say goodbye to them.
--- p.268
He kissed Martha's cold forehead and resolved to live every moment of the rest of his life remembering her.
And he kept that promise.
--- p.270
Publisher's Review
“This novel has made the reasons we must love even clearer.” _Shin Yong-mok (poet)
Looking back on life is like remembering 'Martha'.
- Because the most vivid trace a life leaves is usually love.
Niels Vik's memories of his wife Martha form the main plot of this novel.
Martha passed away recently from a stroke.
During the decades they spent together as a couple, they had their share of arguments and narrowly avoided relationship crises.
But just as the sea doesn't disappear just because the waves get rougher, the conviction that I need this person in my life and the belief that the other person is the same as me, that is, love, has always remained unwavering.
Now that Martha is gone, Nils recalls almost every memory he has of his wife, one by one.
The unique body marks left on the mattress, the playful nagging and dirty jokes, the feel of the knit jacket gently wrapping itself around her back.
Their love, like any other long-lasting love, has a rich, layered color that cannot be replaced by anything else, thanks to the long years that have passed.
Like the waters of a fjord that change colors every moment.
The name of the ship that Nils rode on his entire life was none other than 'Martha'.
At the very end of the novel, when Nils is finally reunited with Martha, the reader experiences the strange experience of feeling relief in the face of death.
If you have lived a life of love with all your heart, I dare to imagine that saying goodbye to that life won't be that difficult.
This indescribable emotion and resonance is something unique that only this novel can convey.
“Using beautiful and flowing language, she paints a complex portrait of life.” _Bragge’s comment
“If Jon Fosse is poetic, Frode Gruyten is lyrical.” _Morjenblade (Norwegian weekly)
To Frode Gruyten, who is considered a representative writer of Nynorsk literature
A work that won the surprising title of being the second recipient of the Brage Literary Prize
Nils Vik's Last Day was praised as "a portrait of a complex life" and "a tribute to ordinary life," and was selected as the winner of the Brage Literary Award, Norway's most prestigious literary award.
This is the second time that Frode Gruyten has won the Brage Literary Prize, having first won it in 1999.
Poet, novelist, and journalist Frode Gruyten has written a variety of works, including poetry, short stories, and children's books, but this is her first full-length novel in over ten years, and she has once again been honored with the Brage Literary Prize upon its publication.
This novel, which has met the long-awaited expectations of readers both inside and outside Norway, is receiving rave reviews as Frode Gruyten's masterpiece and new representative work, and has been confirmed for translation and publication in 19 countries around the world (as of the Korean edition's publication date).
Meanwhile, Frode Gruyten is considered one of the few Norwegian writers to write in Nynorsk, along with Jon Fosse, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature and the 2021 Brage Prize.
Of the two official languages in Norway, Nynorsk is written by far fewer people.
Son Hwa-su, the translator of “The Last Day of Niels Vik,” said, “Nynorsk is often known as a more suitable language for writing poetry,” and “When I read literary works written in Nynorsk, the lingering feeling that remains in my head and heart is special.
“This is especially true of Gruyten’s work,” he added.
Translator Son Hwa-su has previously translated Jon Fosse's works into Korean.
Translator Son Hwa-su took the time to translate this work, again, to preserve the inherent beauty of the language and the author's unique writing style as much as possible.
The breathtaking scenery of the narrow, long fjords flowing between the majestic mountains of Northern Europe and the surreal scenes of a voyage back in time, retracing one's life, are depicted in poetic sentences that are both calm and rhythmic.
These are sentences of quiet beauty that provide a comma and space for reflection in the lives of the readers.
Looking back on life is like remembering 'Martha'.
- Because the most vivid trace a life leaves is usually love.
Niels Vik's memories of his wife Martha form the main plot of this novel.
Martha passed away recently from a stroke.
During the decades they spent together as a couple, they had their share of arguments and narrowly avoided relationship crises.
But just as the sea doesn't disappear just because the waves get rougher, the conviction that I need this person in my life and the belief that the other person is the same as me, that is, love, has always remained unwavering.
Now that Martha is gone, Nils recalls almost every memory he has of his wife, one by one.
The unique body marks left on the mattress, the playful nagging and dirty jokes, the feel of the knit jacket gently wrapping itself around her back.
Their love, like any other long-lasting love, has a rich, layered color that cannot be replaced by anything else, thanks to the long years that have passed.
Like the waters of a fjord that change colors every moment.
The name of the ship that Nils rode on his entire life was none other than 'Martha'.
At the very end of the novel, when Nils is finally reunited with Martha, the reader experiences the strange experience of feeling relief in the face of death.
If you have lived a life of love with all your heart, I dare to imagine that saying goodbye to that life won't be that difficult.
This indescribable emotion and resonance is something unique that only this novel can convey.
“Using beautiful and flowing language, she paints a complex portrait of life.” _Bragge’s comment
“If Jon Fosse is poetic, Frode Gruyten is lyrical.” _Morjenblade (Norwegian weekly)
To Frode Gruyten, who is considered a representative writer of Nynorsk literature
A work that won the surprising title of being the second recipient of the Brage Literary Prize
Nils Vik's Last Day was praised as "a portrait of a complex life" and "a tribute to ordinary life," and was selected as the winner of the Brage Literary Award, Norway's most prestigious literary award.
This is the second time that Frode Gruyten has won the Brage Literary Prize, having first won it in 1999.
Poet, novelist, and journalist Frode Gruyten has written a variety of works, including poetry, short stories, and children's books, but this is her first full-length novel in over ten years, and she has once again been honored with the Brage Literary Prize upon its publication.
This novel, which has met the long-awaited expectations of readers both inside and outside Norway, is receiving rave reviews as Frode Gruyten's masterpiece and new representative work, and has been confirmed for translation and publication in 19 countries around the world (as of the Korean edition's publication date).
Meanwhile, Frode Gruyten is considered one of the few Norwegian writers to write in Nynorsk, along with Jon Fosse, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature and the 2021 Brage Prize.
Of the two official languages in Norway, Nynorsk is written by far fewer people.
Son Hwa-su, the translator of “The Last Day of Niels Vik,” said, “Nynorsk is often known as a more suitable language for writing poetry,” and “When I read literary works written in Nynorsk, the lingering feeling that remains in my head and heart is special.
“This is especially true of Gruyten’s work,” he added.
Translator Son Hwa-su has previously translated Jon Fosse's works into Korean.
Translator Son Hwa-su took the time to translate this work, again, to preserve the inherent beauty of the language and the author's unique writing style as much as possible.
The breathtaking scenery of the narrow, long fjords flowing between the majestic mountains of Northern Europe and the surreal scenes of a voyage back in time, retracing one's life, are depicted in poetic sentences that are both calm and rhythmic.
These are sentences of quiet beauty that provide a comma and space for reflection in the lives of the readers.
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: January 15, 2025
- Format: Hardcover book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 280 pages | 132*192*20mm
- ISBN13: 9791130662480
- ISBN10: 1130662489
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