Summary of TynsetÂ
The narrator of “Tynset” lies awake at night in his bed in Poschiavo, Switzerland, and lets his thoughts, memories, and fears roam freely. He imagines himself traveling to the Norwegian village of Tynset, a place he has never visited but seems a good match to his melancholic state of mind.
Reasons to read TynsetÂ
“Tynset” is a monologue by a lonely insomniac about the absurdity of the world. Although not an easy read, it became a bestseller in the 1960s and remains one of Wolfgang Hildesheimer’s most significant books. Hildesheimer, a German writer, was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize (Germany’s most prestigious literary award) in 1966 and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1983. “Tynset” also won the 1966 Bremen Literature Prize. Other notable works by Hildesheimer include his novel “Masante” and his shorty story collection “Loveless Legends” (“Lieblose Legenden”).
Setting: Tynset (Norway) & Poschiavo (Switzerland)
Book set in Norway and Switzerland: Tynset (Innlandet County, Norway) as the place of the narrator’s imagination (he never actually leaves his home in Poschiavo, Switzerland).
Original title: Tynset
Year of publication: 1965
Nr of pages: 170
