Up today on the blog for #ReadIndies month is a book from a publisher who’s featured on the Ramblings before – Verso. I’ve covered their Book Club before, and the title appearing here today is one which has received a lot of positive coverage and was part of my membership – Long Live the Post Horn! by Vigdis Hjorth (translated by Charlotte Barslund).
Hjorth hails from Norway, and she’s published a substantial number of works in her native country. I suppose her name first came to promimence with English speaking readers following the release of another of her books by Verso: “Will and Testament”, which came out last year. It garnered a lot of praise, attention and controversy; so I was very keen to see what “Long Live…” was like, particularly as it’s about a subject close to my heart – the postal service!
The post has been much in focus during these strange times, with the USPS under threat from unscrupulous politicians, and our own Post Office doing sterling work getting essential things (like books!) through during the pandemic. The focus in “Long Live…”, however, is the Norwegian postal service and the threat to it from EU directives…
Our narrator is Ellinor, a detached PR consultant who runs a firm with two colleagues, Dag and Rolf. As the book opens, Ellinor is in a strange, mentally disengaged state of mind, looking back at her past and wondering where her life is going. News that Dag has resigned and simply disappeared does not help, and relations with her boyfriend Stein seem equally disconnected. Ellinor is clearly not feeling well at the moment; in fact, her emotions seem quite frozen (much like the Norwegian weather). She’s going through life almost on autopilot, and it’s not until she gets involved with an obscure EU postal directive that things seem to change…
I yearned for a breakdown. To surrender to it and be carted off to a quiet and balmy place far away where the pace was slow.
The Norwegian Postal Workers Union hire Ellinor and Rolf to help them fight the directive, which by allowing competition could completely undermine the country’s postal system. Initially uninterested, Ellinor is drawn into the cause, becoming committed to a most unlikely fight against powerful forces in Government and the EU. Will the fight to save the Post Horn also be a fight to save Ellinor’s sanity?
On its own, the story in “Long Live…” is fascinating enough. Ellinor is a woman at a crisis point, and the fact that at one point she references Plath’s “The Bell Jar” is very relevant. Our narrator is often distracted, incapable of focusing and completely without direction. The fight for the postal system is the key to her recovery, and that battle is also very involving; if you have left wing sympathies like me, and like to root for the underdog, you *will* become invested in that element of the story, although the prospects of a positive result are not good.
However, what lifts the story even more is the language; Hjorth writes quite wonderfully (and I commend her translator, Charlotte Barslund!) The narrative conveys vividly Ellinor’s state of mind, in almost stream of consciousness prose at times, and it’s fascinating watching her change as events start to influence her and her clarity begins to return. Ellinor’s lack of focus on anything but her own internal monlogue is sometimes funny, but often disturbing, and I did wonder at Stein’s apparent failure to notice this… (or maybe the episode with the sex toy was his attempt to get her to engage!)
So “Long Live…” is a perfect combination of story and form, with some wonderfully painted and completely memorable characters; from the absent Dag through the stressed Rolf, via the anxious union members and the committed postal workers, these are all people I felt I knew. The importance of letters and the people that deliver them to our lives become very clear as Ellinor hears stories from the postal workers, and this leads to some poignant moments in the narrative. In particular, the sub-tale of a lost letter and its effects on those who finally receive it is quite moving. As Ellinor regains equilibrium, the people with whom she interacts come into sharper focus – this is a remarkably clever book!
I guess by now you can tell that I absolutely loved this book! We had a slogan back in my early feminist days that the “personal was political” and that’s very much the case here, with a quite brilliant weaving together of those two strands by Hjorth. It’s by looking at the personal, how these big rulings affect people’s everyday lives, that Ellinor not only finds the motivation to try to help them, but also brings her own life back into line. Are there happy endings for all concerned? Are there ever in life? I’m not going to say – but I will instead encourage you to get hold of this book and enjoy it. The fight against an EU directive may not sound like the most obvious subject for a great read, but this book is proof that it is! Highly recommended!
Jonathan
Feb 08, 2021 @ 08:01:16
There just aren’t enough books set in the workplace. I’d love to be able to write a Proustian epic set in an office. I’ll have to read this one though.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 08:51:19
No, there aren’t actually, and we spend so much of our time in them! Highly recommend this one, though – excellent stuff! 😀
A Life in Books
Feb 08, 2021 @ 10:53:52
This one was already on my radar so I’m delighted to hear it went down so well with you. I share your soft spot for posties on whom I was dependent for a long time, working from home as a book reviews editor.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 13:52:24
It was an excellent read – beautifully written/translated and so clever how it blended the protagonist’s life crisis with the politics around her. And yes – posties are the best! 😀
JacquiWine
Feb 08, 2021 @ 11:04:45
This does sound very good, an excellent pairing of prose style and form! She’s been on my radar for a while, mainly as a consequence of Will and Testament which seemed to pick up a lot of very positive reviews. Is this a later book than W&T or an earlier one newly translated into English? (It sounds as though she’s written quite a few!)
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 13:51:41
Post Horn was original 2012 and W&T 2016. But her Wikipedia entry lists a lot of titles, and many translated into English. I was so impressed with this one and I *do* want to read W&T though it does sound like it’s a hard one in places.
Joelle Harris
Feb 08, 2021 @ 11:31:56
Thank you for this, I now want to read it, I read Will and Testament and thought it was brilliant (enjoyed, would be the wrong word for it, it was tough in places)
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 13:50:07
It was a really great read! I’m a little nervous of Will and Testament, though she’s such a good writer I may have to take the plunge!
Simon T
Feb 08, 2021 @ 12:00:45
Sounds wonderful, Karen!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 13:49:22
It was a wonderful read – the perfect mix of the personal and the political!
Anokatony
Feb 08, 2021 @ 13:55:49
‘Long Live the Post Horn’. is a novel to look out for since I missed ‘Will and Testament’.when it came out.
Another excellent novel set in the workplace is ‘Underground Time’ by Delphine de Vigan, a French novelist.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 15:17:45
I highly recommend this one – I loved it! I’ve not read Delphine de Vigan yet, but will keep an eye out! 😀
Anokatony
Feb 08, 2021 @ 15:20:47
De Vigan’s other novels have gotten a lot of publicity, but I still think ‘Underground Time’ is her best. It’s about harsh office politics.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 15:34:46
Ah, I’ve lived through those – will keep an eye out!
buriedinprint
May 07, 2021 @ 15:53:14
I’ve added this to my TBR because I have a thing for workplace stories too: thank you!
Gilt and Dust
Feb 08, 2021 @ 14:24:38
This sounds fascinating and I hadn’t heard of this author, thanks fir bringing it to my attention
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 15:16:54
It was really interesting, and I loved the writing. Plus I was cheering on the little guys!
Andrew Blackman
Feb 08, 2021 @ 15:42:53
You know, this novel sounds like a great example of the importance of indie publishers and of this month’s celeberation. I can see a corporate publisher’s marketing department running a mile from a novel about an EU postal directive, but indies often take more chances, so you end up with more variety. This sounds fascinating – I’ll look out for it!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 15:45:22
It is – as you say, no big publisher would consider this unless it was turned into something twee and quirky. But the book isn’t, and it explores the relationship of the personal and political very well.
Andrew Blackman
Feb 08, 2021 @ 17:28:38
Oh yes, “twee and quirky” is a huge market! But this seems like a book that really is different. The relationship between the personal and political is such important ground to cover.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 18:47:21
It is, and there’s a place for it for those who want it. But I usually need something a bit chewier nowadays (unless I’m escaping into Golden Age Crime) and this one really stood out for me.
Jane
Feb 08, 2021 @ 16:35:41
‘I yearned for a breakdown’ as soon as I read that it went on the tbr list! Sometimes we need to give in to duvet days and I completely agree that the personal is political, it’s something I can rant on about for quite some time
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 18:48:41
Me too – it was a slogan in my early feminist days and I think nothing has changed. But this doesn’t hammer you over the head with its message, and the tale of how the wider world affects Ellinor is fascinating!
Cathy746books
Feb 08, 2021 @ 16:35:55
I really enjoyed Will & Testament and have this one too, sounds like I’m in for a treat!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 18:47:37
Excellent! I hope you enjoy it! 😀
heavenali
Feb 08, 2021 @ 18:24:36
I read Will and Testament but was underwhelmed by it. This does sound much more appealing. I especially like the sound of the postal workers Union.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 18:46:24
I wasn’t sure about W&T because of the subject matter, but this one was a real success for me. Very well written and she captured the protagonist’s confused state of mind brilliantly!
Julé Cunningham
Feb 08, 2021 @ 19:26:53
Your description of Elinor could almost come from pandemic mind tweets so prevalent these days. A fascinating sounding book with its combination of characters, situation, and writing. Verso does have a wonderful list.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 08, 2021 @ 19:37:58
She certainly was a character who was very easy to relate to – I think we’re all suffering from a disconnect nowadays… But this is a marvellous book and it’s uplifting seeing Ellinor being transformed by her commitment to the postal workers. Loved it! And yes, Verso’s list is excellent – so diverse!
Liz Dexter
Feb 13, 2021 @ 18:18:22
This sounds brilliant – a great publisher, author and translator combination!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 13, 2021 @ 19:27:11
Very much so – such a fascinating and very readable book – loved it!
buriedinprint
Feb 19, 2021 @ 18:37:34
Yay: this one is in my most recent stack of library loans (now reclining in quarantine, aka stacked in the hallway) so I’m really pleased to hear that you enjoyed it so much! Maybe I’ll even finish it in time to include in my endofmonth post.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Feb 19, 2021 @ 18:48:40
I hope you enjoy it when it’s safe to read it. I loved it! 😀
buriedinprint
May 07, 2021 @ 15:57:08
Halfway through reading this, I could hear the sentiment in your final paragraphs in the back of my mind, and I was wondering “how will we get there from where ‘we’ are now, me and E on the page”, but then…
Yes, I loved this as much as you did, and I’m glad it’s as short as it is, as I’m guessing that many would have abandoned it earlier on, when things just seemed to be heading in quite another direction, but it’s just the right kind of read for right now (and I’m sure many other readers in other times would have had different reasons for saying exactly that, too).
What I really wanted to say though, is that I laughed SO hard at the scene you’ve referred to above in a passing, non-spoilery way. Ohhhhhhh. Such a delight. Believable and ludicrous, at the same time. (And I agree, also, that that was another way of showing the relationship dynamics from the other person’s perspective without actually stepping out of E’s head.) So. Funny.
kaggsysbookishramblings
May 07, 2021 @ 19:09:18
So glad you loved this! It’s the perfect length and I thought the resoltion was perfect – in many ways not what I expected, and I’m so glad I read it when I did.
As for that scene – yes, I didn’t want to spoil it, but so cleverly done!