Lucky Per is the New Greatest Story Ever Told
The novel is a soul-searcher’s guide to the Joyful Galaxy of One.
One is tempted to label Henrik Pontoppidan’s Lucky Per as a novel akin to Homer’s Odyssey, a modern-day hero’s journey. Certainly there is that parallel arc in the obstacle-strewn journeys of Per, the Danish protagonist, and Odysseus. However, it is the eventual homecoming that separates the two — and in my mind elevates Lucky Per above the Greek icon.
The end of this Danish masterpiece might be a Rorschach separating pessimists from optimists—count me among the latter. About two-thirds through, I almost dreaded getting to the end, but then was pleasantly surprised (not all readers will be) and impressed beyond measure. Endings often make or break a book or movie.
Without spoiling, I’ll say that what I loved about the way the novel resolves Per’s life is that it validated my personal worldview. Imagine that!—in a novel written about 120 years ago in Scandinavia. In my esteem the resolution is enlightened, prophetic, and ahead of its time.
Lucky Per was my new best friend for a week as I curled up everywhere, from my bed to buses to public benches, with that hefty hardcover book (1 1/2 lbs, more than 600 pages, including the introduction and translator’s note).
