(#gifted @thebookerprizes) The rollercoaster ride that is the International Booker longlist continues! The Other Name falls right in the middle for me, as at times it was INCREDIBLY frustrating and then I’d be completely hypnotised by Fosse’s ‘slow prose’ the next minute. I feel like this is the ‘Ducks, Newburyport’ of the International longlist, as Fosse doesn’t use full stops and this 350 page book is one run-on sentence, although he does use questions (no capital letter after the question mark) and there is speech (no speech marks) which helps break it up a little.

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The premise is pretty hard to get your head around too, as Fosse uses doppelgängers to consider what makes us lead one life and not another. Two painters, both named Asle, live on the southwest coast of Norway, one is lonely yet semi successful and the other is consumed by alcoholism. The book is one long meandering on the big questions like love and loss, abuse and death, faith and life.

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Often I felt like I was standing at a foggy window, desperately trying to peer through the mist, vaguely making out figures inside moving around but not being able to work out what on earth is going on inside. Fosse’s prose (translated by Damion Searls) can be opaque, nigh on  impenetrable at times, but then there are sections where you find yourself completely swept up in the narrator’s conscience and you can see glimmers of brilliance and truth shining through.

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I have to admire the translation as ever, although I can’t help but wonder whether in a way it’s slightly easier to translate this kind of text - there are no sentences so you don’t have to worry as much about syntax etc. There’s a Q&A with the author and translator on the Booker website so I will definitely be checking that out for some insight!

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Overall I’m hesitant to recommend it unless you know you enjoy philosophical musings and very challenging prose. It’s your call. For me, this one was a mixed back and so gets a bit of an average rating!