“Let me be perfectly clear: I am not at all interested in harness racing. I’m not interested in horses. Not at all. But I can identify with having a lifelong fascination for something … What follows is, like so much literature, a work of memory. Solstad concentrates on what he remembers. And that is no small thing. Everything else we know about this writer’s life, and this writing, resonates.”
6/6 stars, Knut Hoem, NRK
“Solstad celebrates harness racing in Pure Delight!. He got his first kiss from a stable girl, of course … It’s easy to feel joy when Solstad shines with his characteristic style. He writes in a quirky, nerdy and personal way about an interest that began in his youth … Crazy horse names (Safaga Vixi, Baby Song) take on a poetic tone when baked into Solstad’s rich prose … Read as a Solstad book, it’s strange. Read as an article on the sport of trotting, it is original – and provides a welcome reunion with the author’s peculiar signature”
Ingunn Økland, Aftenposten
“The writer and horse race enthusiast Dag Solstad goes for gold. Simply wonderful … The long sentences, some of them one hundred words long, create a drive and energy that seduces the reader … Solstad’s pace and powerful prose are a significant added bonus. A real page-turner! This is one hundred pages for those who are interested in both horses and Norwegian literature – quite simply an bull’s eye”
6/6 stars, Jan Øyvind Helgesen, Nettavisen
“As much as a review of the history of trotting, this text is an exploration of the wanderings and aberrations of memory. It is an exploration of memory and existence that reminds us of Solstad’s fondness for Marcel Proust, where Solstad boldly lets his guard down and lures us into his world. It’s all done at a great trot, where the few hints of a gallop are all nicely reined in by the experienced driver. For those who love to follow Solstad’s thought processes through Solstad’s sentences, this contribution to trotting history, this front of the medal, is a real treat.”
5/6 stars, Andreas Wiese, Dagbladet
