Sinners in Summertime [Paperback]

Sigurd Hoel (Author), Sverre Lyngstad (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

Originally published in English in 1930, Sinners in Summertime takes a satirical look at sex, psychoanalysis, and the arrogance of youth. A group of students spend the summer along the Norwegian coast, determined to be honest about the nature of sex, in order to avoid the self-delusions they feel have plagued previous generations. What follows is a complete undermining of all their "enlightened" values, as they find themselves ensnared by romantic mischief. A novel of manners in an era when standards where about to break down, Sinners exposes the folly of youthful intellectualism, while also demonstrating the connections that bind all generations.

Sigurd Hoel was one of the leading literary and cultural voices of Norway in the first half of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in 1890 near Oslo, Norway, Sigurd Hoel was one of the leading literary and cultural voices of Norway in the first half of the twentieth century. His work as a novelist, journalist, editor, and literary and social critic demonstrated an interest in the psychological make-up of the mind matched at that time in Norway by only Henrik Ibsen and Knut Hamsun.

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Ig Publishing; 2 Revised edition (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970312504
• ISBN-13: 978-0970312501
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,144,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not satirical, but ironic, June 26, 2011

By 

K. Casey "librarian mom" (Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sinners in Summertime (Paperback)

This book is described as a satire in the Editorial Review. I disagree with this.

I was recently going through my later father's collection of books. Finding the 1930 edition of Sinners in Summertime, and intrigued by the title, I read it. This book was not written, or intended, as a satire.

A 2002 edition of this book (in the original translation by Elizabeth Springer and Claude Napier) was reviewed in Scandinavian Studies (2003, vol. 75, no. 1). The reviewer, Jan Sjavik, describes the characters as being "inspired by the writings of Sigmund Freud," though I would say they were more obsessed. Sjavik described the first-person narrator as reeking of "both misogyny and self-deception," to which I offer fervent agreement. He also noted that contemporary reviewers probably weren't "able to comprehend the irony of the author's presentation."

This seems to be true. This short review appeared in a university publication a year after the book was first published in 1930: "Coward-McCann publishes a naughtily sophisticated novel of young Norwegian intellectuals, Sinners in Summertime, by the clever young Oslo journalist-playwright Sigurd Hoel."

I enjoyed this book as an ironic exploration of what made young people tick in the 1920s. Even acknowledging its historical value, the constant sexism and smugness of the male characters made me feel as if I was slowly being weighed down with rocks. Those trying to read Sinners in Summertime as a satire will have an even harder time of it.