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Br Brson
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Wikipedia article
'Br Brson jr.' is a satirical novel from the boom period during World War I, written by Norwegian writer Johan Falkberget. It was first published as a feuilleton in the satirical magazine 'Hvepsen' in 1917, then again printed as a feuilleton in the newspaper 'Nidaros', and issued as a book in 1920. The story was a great success, and has later been adapted into two films (one in 1938 and one in 1974), a comedy, a musical, and a comic series.
Plot
"Br Brson Olderstad" is a farmer's son from the fictional valley Olderdalen. Dreaming about money, wealth and a position at the board of the local savings bank, he has changed his last name to Brson, and started a local grocery store. The name Brson is a paraphrase of the Norwegian word ', from , in . Via various burlesque episodes he eventually ends up as a millionaire. The story ends with a wedding between Br and Josefine Torsien, a girl from a nearby farm. The novel is set in the boom period during World War I. Norway did not participate in the war, but the country's merchant fleet carried goods at increasing freight rates. The sea transport was a risky business that cost the lives of 2,000 Norwegian seamen, while a volatile stock market could multiply investments over short periods of time.
Reception
The literary critics barely mentioned the book. But the satire was met with great popularity among the readers.
When Falkberget wrote a sequel called 'Den nye Br Brson jr.' for the magazine 'Arbeidermagasinet' in 1927, he set the condition that the story should not be issued in book form.
Derivative works
The story was adapted for theatre by Toralf Sand, who also played the title character with the touring ensemble Falkbergets Teater from 1929. Their performances in Trondheim in February 1929 were met with full houses and enthusiastic public. The story was basis for a film from 1938, where the title role was played by Toralf Sand. The theatre version was again staged at Det Norske Teatret in 1958. A musical by Harald Tusberg and Egil Monn-Iversen was staged at Det Norske Teatret in 1972, with Rolv Wesenlund as Br and Britt Langlie as Josefine. The musical introduced popular songs such as " kjinne ein kar", "Brs Song" and "Wienerbrd-tango", and was given the Spellemannprisen Honorary Award for 1972, and a musical film was released in 1974. A comic series in the magazine 'Nynorsk Vekeblad' was drawn by Arne Wold.
References
Category:20th-century Norwegian novels
Category:Works originally published in Norwegian magazines
Category:1917 novels
Category:1920 novels
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