The novel Vaim is the first book to be published by Jon Fosse after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023. It will be launched in connection with the opening of DIFF 2025.
I was standing outside The Vaim General Store with this fishing set in my hand, and I thought why in the world had I bought myself a fishing rod, no, it had never once crossed my mind to buy fishing gear, because what was I supposed to do with it, it’s true I had liked fishing when I was a boy, but, yes, that was quite a long time ago, still for all I knew it might be fun to stand there on The Quay and cast out the line and reel it in again, maybe, I thought and either way The Shopkeeper was a very good salesman, that was for sure, once you walk through the door of his shop there’s no getting away from him, yes, I thought, and what now, well I’d been thinking I would go to the restaurant, to get dinner, yes because it had been several days since I’d had good hot food, so it would taste good, I thought, and besides I was probably pretty curious to see what it was like in that restaurant, but was I actually allowed to go in there carrying this fishing gear, because I didn’t want to go back up to my room with it, because who knows, maybe I’d run into The Hotel Owner again, maybe with all Brita’s nosiness she’s gone up to my room again to see what I have in my suitcases, yes, she probably has, definitely, since I had nothing to hide she could look at every last thing in there if it made her happy, as far as I was concerned, but it was a bit ridiculous, that Brita woman wasn’t entirely on the level, I thought and I noticed that I had started walking down towards The Quay, not that I wanted to go fishing now, but sooner or later I’d have to try my hand at casting a line or two, I thought, but for now I just wanted go down to The Quay to look around before I went into the restaurant, Vaim Restaurant yes, I thought and I stopped and stood there and looked at the boat tied up there on The Quay, and it was a beautiful boat, big for the kind of boat it was, and the roof extended to almost cover the whole boat, and that was probably just as well, since it rained so much in this part of the country, and the boat was nicely lacquered, yes, the varnish was so shiny that it glittered, yes that boat was a sight to see, and the name it had, Eline, that was a beautiful name, I felt, but now it really was probably time to get some food in me, yes, I thought and then I cut across the parking lot towards the door with Vaim Restaurant painted on it and I opened the door and I could see it was bright and cozy in the restaurant, and a guy was sitting at a table in the far corner of the restaurant, about my age, he had a beer bottle and a glass on the table in front of him and he sat there staring into space, and he didn’t notice that someone had come into the restaurant, he just sat there staring into space like before, there weren’t that many tables in the restaurant, but they were nice old wooden tables, and there were wooden chairs like the one I had in my room around the tables, four wooden chairs for each table, and then on the left there was a counter with a cash register and the menu was written on a kind of blackboard on the wall behind the counter, and there were three dishes to choose from, meatballs, fishcakes, and stew, and below that it said that dessert was fruit cocktail with ice cream and that was it, and then there on the counter there was indeed a sheep bell, just like Brita had said and I went and leaned the fishing set against the wall behind the nearest table, the one closest to the door, and so the farthest away from the man sitting drinking a beer and staring straight ahead, and then I went over to the counter and picked up the sheep bell and shook it, and damn it made a loud sound, so I quickly put it back down on the counter, and the man sitting there with his glass of beer was still only staring straight ahead, yes yes, I thought and I guessed I had to just stand there at the counter and wait, I thought and all of this taken together really was a bit strange, I thought, The Vaim Hotel and The Vaim Restaurant and The Vaim General Store, yes, everything was kind of odd, and I wasn’t so sure whether I liked it or not, no, there was almost something unreal about it all, I thought, and my car, I saw it when I left the store, didn’t I, no, maybe not and I think I should go look out the door to see if it’s there, and I go to the door and I open it, go outside, and yes, well, the car is right where I parked it, so as I can see everything’s fine, I think and I go over to the car and I think that I should check to make sure the doors are locked and they are, every door, and so I should probably go back to the restaurant then, because somebody who can serve me probably has to come soon, I think and I go back into the restaurant and as soon as I’m through the door I see Brita standing there holding up the fishing set and she looks at me
Hello, she says
So you’re checking out the restaurant, she says
Yes, good evening, I say
Yes well it’s almost evening, she says
and I see that Brita is going back behind the counter with my fishing set in her hand, and I quickly look at the table where the other customer is sitting, and I see that there are now three beer bottles on his table, and I think why in the world is Brita taking my fishing set and she looks at me and she says that I probably want something to eat and she puts the fishing set down, leaning it against the wall behind the cash register, under the board with the menu
But you, I say
Yes, that, I say
Yes, she says
That fishing equipment, yes, I just bought that, I say
But the fishing set was there when you came in, she says
Yes, I say
Yes I just stepped out for a minute, I say
But the men’s room’s over there, Brita says
and she points towards the back of the restaurant
I didn’t mean that, I say
and neither of us says anything, and it doesn’t seem like Brita has any intention of giving me my fishing set back
But, that’s my fishing set, I say
It’s yours? Brita says
Yes, I say
But you, yes well, she says
and I can feel myself getting a little annoyed
I came in here, and put the fishing set down there, I say
and I point to the place where the fishing set was
You came in and then went back outside right away, Brita says
No, I stood here waiting for a long time, but no one came, I say
You can’t have stood here that long, she says
Because I came almost as soon as I heard the bell, and then the other guest ordered some beer, she says
and I think that I really was standing there a long time, but that there’s no point in contradicting Brita, I understand that much
So, you called, she says
Yes, I rang the bell, I say
What would you like, sir, she says
and I look at the menu
Maybe meatballs, I say
and Brita says that that’s not a bad choice, she made the meatballs herself, following an old recipe, she got it from her mother and her mother got it from her mother, and who knows if her grandmother didn’t get it from her own mother, she says
One order of meatballs then, she says
So you can just have a seat at one of the tables, wherever you want, she says
and I think that it really doesn’t seem like she’s going to give me my fishing set back, but I’ll get it back, I just have to wait a bit
Where do you want to sit? Brita says
and I turn and point to the chair next to where the fishing set had been leaning against the wall and Brita says that that’s fine
But wouldn’t you like something to drink? she says
All right, maybe a glass of beer, I say
and I was actually just going to drink water, but since the other customer is sitting there drinking beer, yes, then I guess I can have a glass too, I think
One beer then, Brita says
But we only have bottles, she says
and I nod, and then I go and sit down at the nearest table, I put my shoulder bag down on the floor, and I see Brita open a bottle of beer and get a glass and then she comes to my table, tilts the glass, pours the beer into the glass, and puts the glass and the bottle down in front of me
Here you go, she says
I hope you like it, she says
Thanks, I say
It’s a very good beer, she says
and Brita is already on her way back behind the counter, so she really doesn’t plan to give me my fishing set back, I think, it wasn’t that big a purchase either, but it’s still infuriating, really, and after all if I have to I can always tell her that The Shopkeeper can confirm that I bought the fishing set from him, I think and I have a sip of the beer, and actually I’ve never really liked the taste of beer, but this beer is definitely not bad, I think, and I put the glass down and then I stare into space for a minute, what a mess with that fishing set, I think, but, shit, I think, who cares and I look at the man sitting in the back of the restaurant and I see that he’s now put three empty beer bottles on the edge of the table and then there’s a half-full bottle and another full bottle in front of him and he looks at me
You should’ve kept an eye on your fishing gear, he says
and I guess I never thought he’d say something to me, or even notice I was there, and so now I probably have to answer something
You think so, I say
Yes, he says
Once she takes it, yes, you’ll never see it again, he says
Did you see me come in with the fishing set, I say
Yes, he says
But then you can just tell her it’s mine, I say
That won’t make a difference, he says
and I probably have to say something in response to that, but I don’t know quite what to say
I’ve seen all this happen before, he says
That Brita’s so sneaky, it’s unbelievable, he says
And it was probably The Shopkeeper who sold you that fishing set, he says
Yes, you’re right, I say
That fishing set has been sold many times over, he says
and now I don’t understand what he means, I think, and I see him walk towards me with firm steps and then he goes behind the counter and then he takes the fishing set and goes back to his table and then I see him go to the restroom door that says gentlemen and he goes inside, and he comes out again right away, without the fishing set
That’s the safest place to leave it, he says
Because Brita doesn’t go into the men’s room, at least not when someone can see her doing it, he says
and he stops talking and I think that I’m understanding little or nothing of this, but I do at least understand that the fishing set has now been put in the men’s room for some reason or another
That’s how it goes, he says
and he looks at me
That’s how it goes, he repeats
and he says that how it goes is that new guests at the hotel stop by The General Store and then The Shopkeeper gets them to buy that set of fishing gear, and the guest takes it with them to the hotel, usually to their room, and leaves it there, and then when the guest is out Brita sees her chance to unlock the room and go inside and take the fishing set, that’s how it always goes, he says, and then when the guest checks out she brings it back to The Shopkeeper and then he sells it again to the next guest who comes to the hotel and stops by the shop, he says and I wonder how he can know all this, it’s probably just drunken talk, but I don’t say anything
It’s true, by god, he says
But today, yes, well, today she saw her chance to take it when you stepped out, the set was just sitting there, he says
and he sort of points with his head at the wall behind me and he says that he’s seen exactly the same thing happen before, the guest just had to attend to some urgent business and while he was away from the table Brita would come with the food or something and take the fishing set and then she’d usually take it out of the restaurant right away, not lean it against the wall behind the counter, he’s never seen her do that before, but it was probably because she was about to bring him his beer that she did it like that, he said
Tricky, isn’t she, he says
And how do I know that it’s the same set, he says
Yes well, he says
Yes, well, when I saw this happen the first time, with the guest just going into the men’s room, I stopped by The General Store the next day and tore a little notch in the packaging of the fishing gear, in the cardboard, and the next day the set was gone, and the day after that it was back again, he says
The Shopkeeper sells it, she gets hold of it somehow or another, she takes it back to The Shopkeeper, and then they probably split the profits in some way, he says
and I think he must be pretty drunk now, because this can’t be true, now he’s just making things up, I think
Yes, isn’t that unbelievable, he says
It’s so crazy that even though I’ve seen it with my own eyes I can hardly believe it myself, so to speak, he says
Mostly I think they’re just doing it for fun, he says
By the way, everyone just calls me The Sailor, he says
and he pauses
But, he says
But there’s not much money to be made from either the shop or the hotel, so they have to add a little extra wherever they can, he says
And it’s not like it would be better if the shop, the restaurant, and the hotel all shut down, he says
So in a way it’s probably fine, he says
and I see Brita come out from behind the counter and she’s carrying a plate of meatballs and a knife and fork and a napkin and she hurries over to me and puts it all down in front of me
Here you go, she says
Hope you like it, she says
Thanks, I say
and then I hear the other customer, The Sailor I guess he’s called, say that she could bring him a couple more bottles of beer, and she says that she certainly could and I see that I’ve ended up with a generous meal, four large meatballs, four potatoes with thick brown gravy, a big portion of mashed peas, and then a pretty large spoonful of the brightest red lingonberry jam on the side, and it looks good and then I hear Brita say that everything is homemade, not just the meatballs, but the lingonberry jam and the peas too, and of course the gravy, and she bought the potatoes from the farmer at the nearest farm, and she peeled them herself, she says and I see that she’s already heading over to the other customer, to The Sailor, yes, with three bottles of beer before she rushes out again and I start eating and it all tastes excellent, to tell the truth I’ve never tasted better meatballs, I think, everything is good, the gravy, the mashed peas, the lingonberry jam, Brita can really cook at least, you’ve got to give her that, I think and I hear the other customer ask if I noticed that there was no price written next to the dinner dishes, and there’s a reason for that, she charges a lot, and if the customer knew how much he was going to have to pay for the food and the beer he probably wouldn’t buy it, he says, but it depends on who it is, she looks after her people, he himself has an agreement with her for a reasonable price on the beer, yes, it only costs him a little more here than it does at The Vaim General Store, he says, and that’s why he can afford to have his beer here, he says and I think that it’s true, she hadn’t said how much a night at the hotel would cost, or how much the dinner would cost, or how much the beer would cost either, and I didn’t see it written anywhere, so now Brita could probably charge me as much as she wanted, I thought, but the price probably can’t be that outrageously crazy, I think, and after all she’d said she gave long-term guests a good deal, I think
On the other hand it’s not that expensive if the guests are staying for a while, and if they come and have dinner here a lot, he says
You’ve got to give her that, he says
and I keep eating, because by now I was really hungry, and the food is genuinely delicious, I think and every now and then between bites I take a sip of beer and the beer tastes really good with the food, I think and then I hear The Sailor say that there’s something familiar about me, we really must have met before, maybe I’ve been to Vaim before, because he definitely thinks he’s seen me before and I say I doubt it, I’ve never been to Vaim, not as far as I can remember anyway and he says yes, yes, there’s something familiar about me, but it may well be that he’s thinking of someone who looks like me, someone he was on a boat with once or something, he says and just then I see Brita come into the restaurant and she looks for the fishing set and then she gives me a stern look and asks if I removed the fishing set, yes, she says removed, and I say that I haven’t touched any fishing set, even though it was my set, I just bought it at The Vaim General Store, I say and Brita says yes yes and then she goes over to the guy sitting next to the wall and she asks him if he saw anyone take the fishing set
No, he says
The only thing I saw was that when the customer you just served came into the restaurant he had a fishing set with him, he says
and Brita shakes her head like this is the worst thing she’s ever heard and I think that I can hardly remember ever having seen a greater lack of common decency, or whatever you’d call it, reasonable behavior, than all this, I think and then Brita comes walking
towards me
Did you like the food, she says
Yes, very much, I say
Have you ever tasted better meatballs? she says
No, I was thinking that myself, I don’t believe I have, I say
and I thought that this was probably the smartest thing to say to her, and when I think about it these really are some of the best meatballs I’ve ever had, it’s true, but maybe that’s partly because I was so hungry
These are some of the best meatballs I’ve ever had, I say
Maybe even the very best, she says
Yes, maybe, I say
and I think that now if The Sailor hadn’t taken the fishing set and put it in the men’s room, yes, then I’d of course have to tell her again that it’s my fishing set and that I need to get it back, and maybe I can, or should, tell her that anyway
That was my fishing set, I say
Yes, Brita says
Yes, it’s mine, so I’d like it back now, I say
Yours huh, she says
I bought it just now at The Vaim General Store, I say
You did, did you, she says
Yes I did, I say
and I see her standing there shaking her head
The Shopkeeper can confirm it, I say
The Shopkeeper, she says
and it’s almost like she’s shouting it into the air
Yes, I say
The Shopkeeper, the shopkeeper, she says
So, can you tell me where this fishing set is? she says
and I see her open the front door and go out and I hear The Sailor say sure, no reason why not, he says
No, I suppose not, I say
But the meatballs were good at least? he says
Very good, I say
Yes, she makes good meatballs, he says
And her fishcakes are good too, and the stew too, for that matter, yes, he says
and he falls silent and I calmly keep eating and I think my goodness it was good to get some food in me, and then I think what else could I think, that it was good to eat something is pretty much the only thing I could think and The Sailor says that the way Brita, yes, that’s her name, he says, but she’s probably told me that already, the way Brita manages to run both the hotel and the restaurant despite everything, and by herself too, yes, sometimes in the summer she’d get help from a girl in school, but usually, no, he doesn’t understand it, he says, and she sure can cook, yes, he says, but since he doesn’t have all the money in the world he basically has to choose between beer and food, and since he can easily manage to cook for himself the food he needs, well, he might as well spend his money on beer, he says and I take another sip and I’ll never be a real beer drinker, I think, beer tastes okay, that’s it, and the rush it gives you, no I’ve never really cared much for that either, I think, I just get kind of hot and fuzzy in the head, I think, and I don’t like that feeling very much, so that’s why I don’t drink much, yes, little or nothing, but I don’t need to tell The Sailor that since he clearly likes beer so much
Did you notice the boat tied up at The Quay, he says
Yes, I say
That’s my boat, he says
and then he says that he’s an old sailor, or not that old, actually, but when he retired it didn’t take long before he bought himself the boat I saw tied up at The Quay, yes, he bought her for a lick, almost nothing, he says
and there’s some pride in his voice
Yes, I got it cheap, he says
I’ve always wanted a boat like that, but I could never afford one, yes, you know, all this beer adds up, but would you believe it, a Strilelander from Sartor turned up here with a sjark, it was probably because of a woman, her name was Eline, yes, one night when we were sitting and drinking a little he offered to sell me his other boat for a reasonable price, yes, since he already had a sjark he would sell me the other boat for a reasonable price, is what he said, he really just wanted to get rid of it, so I got the boat practically for free, The Sailor said and then he says that the man who’d sold him the boat went back to Sartor in his sjark and he says that he’s never been luckier, never gotten a better deal in his life, because the boat was built well and had been well cared for, she never had a single engine problem, it was apparently a boat builder up in the Hardanger Fjord that had built her, and he must have been an extremely talented boat builder, the only problem with the boat was that she was called Eline and it was apparently the boat’s first owner who’d named her that, he’d apparently named the boat after his girlfriend or old lady or whoever it was, the way sailors get a tattoo of the name of the girl they’re thinking about at the time, usually on the back of their hand, and then have to deal with it for the rest of their lives, because if they get a wife later, well, she usually has a different name, that’s how it goes, he knew several guys in that situation, The Sailor said and everybody knew it was definitely bad luck to change a boat’s name, so this boat was named Eline, he said
It’s a magnificent boat, I say
Yes, I really feel attached to this boat, The Sailor says
I live on an island a little west of here, he says
And to get anywhere from that island I need a boat, he says
And I’ve had this boat now for many years, he says
Yes, when I was young, yes, the first thing I wanted to buy when I grew up, yes, was a boat, he says
And I noticed this boat a long time ago, he says
Her lacquer had such a nice shine to it, he says
And I always take good care about the spring cleaning and tune-up, ever since I got her, he says
So tar for the keel and lacquer for the sides have cost me a lot over the years, he says
Yes, a lot of money and a lot of work, he says
and neither of us says anything
Was that your car parked in front of the hotel, he says
Yes, I say
That looks like a nice car, he says
Yes, it works fine, I say
But I haven’t had it that long, I bought it just yesterday, I say
and just then the front door opens and Brita comes in and walking behind her is The Shopkeeper, but now he’s taken off his work smock, now he’s wearing a regular coat and he has a hat on and I nod to The Shopkeeper and he nods back
So here you have the guy you supposedly bought that set of fishing gear from, now you can ask him about it, Brita says
and I say to The Shopkeeper that he probably remembers that I just now came by his shop and that I bought a fishing set, and he gives me a searching look
A fishing set, he says
Yes, I say
No, I don’t remember that, says The Shopkeeper
and I look at him in surprise, is it me or him who’s crazy, I think, because this, no, I don’t understand this at all
Yes, you hear what the man says, Brita says
and The Shopkeeper looks at Brita
Was that everything? he says
Yes, thank you, thank you very much, she says
and The Shopkeeper bows to me and says goodnight and I say thanks same to you and then he looks at The Sailor and says goodnight to him too and The Sailor raises a hand and says goodnight to you too and then Brita opens the door for The Shopkeeper and he leaves and Brita looks at me
There, you heard what he said, she says
***
Jon Fosse
Jon Fosse is the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His latest novel, Vaim Hotel, will appear with Fitzcarraldo Editions in autumn 2026.
Photograph by Devashish Gaur
Artwork by Sayre Gomez, Scale Replica of the Past, Present and Future (Peabody Werden House), 2023,
Courtesy of the Collection museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar
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