This masterfully crafted Norwegian novel studies how the insidious power of social roles can corrupt relations between men and women. In three confessional narratives by men parading as "Thief," "Dog" and "Prisoner," Faldbakken dramatizes the warped love each man has felt for the same woman, a waitress who leaves her husband to become "a better and more complete human being." Adam's Diary resists cliche, aiming instead for a dead-on dissection of the sexual stereotypes that sabotage companionship and social change. Always in the background is Norwegian society, an affluent prison bolted in place by consumer debt and double-digit mortgage rates. Ultimately, the men's misogyny instigates a tragic conclusion to this exceptional novel. American readers of serious fiction would be fortunate indeed if all Faldbakken's work was translated into English.

Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.