In the first volume of a trilogy of novels, Jon Fosse presents us with an indelible and poignant exploration of the human condition. Translated by Damion Searls.

In the village of Dyglia in Norway, Asle, an ageing painter and widower, is reminiscing about his life. Two hours’ drive down the coast, in Bjørgvin, lives another Asle, also a painter. He and the narrator are doppelgangers - two versions of the same person, two versions of the same life. Written in hypnotic prose that shifts between the first and third person, The Other Name asks questions about subjectivity and the self. What makes us who we are? And why do we lead one life and not another?

Longlisted
The 2020 International Booker Prize
Published by
Fitzcarraldo Editions
Publication date

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Jon Fosse

Jon Fosse

About the Author

Jon Fosse has been nominated for the International Booker Prize twice, in 2020 and 2022. He was born in 1959 on the west coast of Norway and is the recipient of countless prestigious prizes, both in his native country and abroad.
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Damion Searls - Photo credit: Beowulf Sheehan

Damion Searls

About the Translator

Damion Searls is a translator from German, Norwegian, French and Dutch - and a writer in English.
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Other nominated books by Jon Fosse

A New Name, Septology VI-VII

Other nominated books by Damion Searls

A New Name, Septology VI-VII