En anden

by Tom Kristensen

Genres: Fiction

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1923

About the author

For the Norwegian author by the same name, please see: Tom Kristensen

Tom Aage Kristensen was born in London in United Kingdom in 1893 to Danish parents. In his early childhood the family moved back to Denmark, more specifically Copenhagen, where Kristensen grew up.

Kristensen was a Danish poet, writer, and critic. He was a key figure in Danish literature in the interwar period (as well as later), and is considered one of the few Danish expressionist writers.

A path towards literature was being shaped early on, as he was named after the fictional character Uncle Tom from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which was his mother's favorite book.

In 1919 Kristensen graduated with a major in Danish. After graduating he taught English for two years whilst writing his first works. In 1920 he debuted as a poet, when Fribytterdrømme (in English: "Freebooter Dreams") was published. The year after he made his debut as a novelist with Livets Arabesk (in English: "The Arabesque of Life"). Both works are characterized as expressionistic writings with strong influences from Nietzsche's thoughts on chaos and lack of accept of the passed-on systems of belief.

During the 1920's Kristensen travelled a lot within and outside of Europe. Travels to i.e. China, Japan and Spain resulted in published fictional depictions of his destinations.

Despite his many travels and writings thereof, his probably best known novel takes place in his own Copenhagen as well as in some of his own personal struggles:
In 1930 Hærværk (published in English in 1968 as Havoc) was published. The novel, considered by many to be Kristensen's greatest work, revolts around the life of alcoholized literary critic Ole Jastrau, whose life bears great resemblance to Tom Kristensen's own life at the time. The story depicts a self-destructive nihilistic soul determined to drink himself to death in a modern western capital. Kristensen's fascination with chaos and disaster once again shines through in his masterpiece.

A few years after the death of his third wife in 1943, he withdrew from the Danish capital, and moved to the small island Thurø in 1946 where he lived until his death in 1974.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

En vanskelig, fascinerende og nærmest dyster bog. Der bliver taget livtag med ekspressionisme, eksistentialisme, relativitet og psykoanalyse - primært set fra den barnets undrende perspektiv. Valdemar Rasmussen, toldkontrollør i Shanghai, skriver om sin barndom i København K og de afstumpede og ensomme skæbner der omgiver ham. Tonen er rå og aggressiv, håbet væk.

Skrevet i 1923 er bogen angiveligt selvbiografisk og kan vel ses som et forstudie til Hærværk (1930). Den tabte generation for fuld udblæsning.

[Thomas Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

En meget fin bog og på sin vis også en "lille Hærværk". Forfatteren leger med selvbiografigenren, men jeg går ud at bogen er fiktion fra ende til anden, udover de sammentræf der vel altid er mellem en forfatter og forfatterens værk. At man på den danske wiki om T. Kristensen kan læse at bogen er selvbiografi, viser vel bare hvor utroværdig den side er. Bogen er direkte en benægtelse af muligheden for at forstå sig selv og sit eget liv, et spring ud i det tomme rum (ja, det er T. Kristensen), og titlen "En anden" indikerer vel netop, at dette ikke er en bog om T.Kristensen, men "en anden" - som hovedpersonen flere gange forestiller sig en person der ikke findes, eller at han selv er en anden, og til sidst ender med at betvivle, at alt det han tror at kunne huske om sit eget liv overhovedet har fundet sted. Okay, det er altså modernisme det her. Men udover alt det filosofiske spidsfindige (og interessante hvis man er til den slags - det er jeg) er det også en virkelig god bog. Vi følger Valdemar der som voksen mand og embedsmand i Kina tænker tilbage på sin opvækst i København. Bogen handler for en stor del om drengelivet, opvæksten, forholdet til moren og efter hendes død faren der aldrig har villet vide af drengen og moren, en cigar-handler der bruger alle sine penge på ludere og som Valdemar stikker af fra for at opleve det Tom-kristenske gå-ihundene-forfald som ingen anden dansker kan beskrive det. Bogen er simpelthen godt skrevet ud fra det barnlige pespektiv, så vi føler noget for denne uheldige dreng, hvis hele liv er indhyllet i mørke og som ender med intet at forstå af sig selv og verden. En bog med en stor skønhed.