Weird Tales from Northern Seas is a collection of Norwegian author Jonas Lie's short stories, cherry-picked by translator R. Nisbet Bain from a number of collections Lie wrote between 1870 and 1891. They are tied thematically by the sea, by the bleakness of fishing communities, and the oddity of Northern magic. While the stories are written by Lie this collection is very much a product of Bain, gathering together his favourites from amongst Lie's much larger output.

The stories range in quality and length, but one thing remains constant - the harsh swept sea. Norway, with its impressive fjords and elegant longbows, is very much a country tied to the turbulence of storms and fishing seasons. Lie captures this well, using the matter-of-fact tone of the fishing peasantry to highlight the daily rigour of their lives. In the unfortunately too short preface, Bain argues, somewhat weakly, that Lie's fisherman are superior to Kielland and Bjørnson. While there is some evidence to support his claim there is not enough, and much of the blame lies, I think, with the quality of the translation. Too much of the language is plain and functional, without ornament or style - a quality which seems absurd given that Jonas Lie is considered one of the 'Four Greats' of Norwegian literature.

But no matter. The content is, for the most part, strong, though a certain predilection toward ghost stories and fairy tales is required to fully enjoy the collection. In Lie's writing magic is cold and bleak, and almost universally to the detriment of a human foolish or unlucky enough to encounter it. Jack, in the story "whatever", is convinced that he needs to use magic to build the best boat and become rich; when his girlfriend Siemke hears of this, she implores him to stay away from evil: "she began to cry and take on terribly. She fell upon his neck, and wouldn't let go, and raved and shrieked. She promised him her snow-shoes, which would carry him through everything, and said she would steal for him the bone-stick from the Gan-Finn, so that he might find all the lucky dollars that ever were buried, and would teach him how to make salmon-catching knots in the fishing lines, and how to entice reindeer from afar. He should become as rich as the Gan-Finn, if only he wouldn't forsake her." He does, of course, and for a time wealth is his. But retribution strikes - as it does in all the stories - and sometimes falls upon the head of the protagonist, but often their family as well.

There is a solid core of conservatism lurking within this collection of short stories. It is universally true within the confines of Weird Tales from Northern Seas that an adventurous person, someone who dares to reach beyond the tight perimeter of their village for anything other than fishing, will find themselves in mortal danger from weird creatures and strange magical beings. Again and again people, generally young and almost always male, are punished with dire and horrible results for exploring a life that is different to that of their fathers and the people in their village. Ghost stories, and fairy tales, by nature encourage either archly conservative values such as family and obedience before exploration, or they highlight the wonder that might come from venturing outside your comfort area – of course while also indicating the potential dangers.

The stories are taken from Lie's collections, Den Fremsynte, Fortællinger og Skildringer, and Trold. Bain indicates that Lie has recently (this is 1892) published a further collection of ghost stories, but that they are of a lower quality. The stories are liberally sprinkled with Norwegian terminology and references to Norway's rich mythology; Bain has briefly described many of the unfamiliar terms, but many of the allusions and references will go above the head of anyone not familiar with Norwegian cultural history. This, unfortunately, includes the reviewer, which may perhaps explain the generally tepid tone of the review. Lie's 'Weird Tales' carry the heady smell of promised riches, but they are riches that remain sadly unlocked. Perhaps a modern day translation would better serve the needs of a non-Norwegian reader; a quick Amazon search suggests that the most recently published edition of this work is a reprint of the public domain text located on Project Gutenberg.

It is difficult to read the collection and not feel that Lie comes across more poorly than he should. His reputation remains large in Norway, though his best known work in English is probably The Gilje Family. Weird Tales from Northern Seas is recommended for those who enjoy stories of magic and ghosts, and even more so for those who are aware of Norway's mythological history. For the rest of us, this is a sadly unsatisfactory work.

See Also

List of Norwegian authors under review.

Links

Wikipedia
Project Gutenber - Full text online