{"product_id":"the-mystery-of-what-befell-in-the-ditch","title":"The Mystery of What Befell in the Ditch","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-8 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"auto\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSynopsis\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTomas Olsen Myrbråten has been commissioned by an official Norwegian body to write a report on the country's national monuments and their preservation. Instead, the assignment collapses into scandal. Myrbråten abandons the project, throws his phone and laptop into a ditch, and retreats from the structures of modern life. After meeting Helene in a pub and persuading her to join him in the countryside, his attempt at escape becomes stranger still, eventually driving him deep into the Norwegian wilderness in pursuit of life as a \"man of the forest.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Mystery of What Befell in the Ditch\u003c\/em\u003e is a wild, hallucinatory novel about isolation, technology, language, and the desire to escape civilization. As Myrbråten retreats further into his own mind, Thure Erik Lund asks how much of what we think is truly our own and whether an authentic life is even possible within the systems that shape us. Long celebrated in Norway and considered extraordinarily difficult to translate, this cornerstone of contemporary Norwegian literature appears in English for the first time in David M. Smith's translation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThure Erik Lund is a Norwegian novelist and essayist known for his formally inventive and uncompromising fiction. He made his literary debut with \u003cem\u003eTanger\u003c\/em\u003e in 1992, which won the Tarjei Vesaas' Debutant Prize, and has since published numerous novels and essay collections. His work has received major Norwegian literary honours, including the Norwegian Critics Prize, and he is regarded as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Norwegian literature. \u003cem\u003eThe Mystery of What Befell in the Ditch\u003c\/em\u003e is translated from the Norwegian by David M. Smith.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd Other Stories\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOctober 20, 2026\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e304\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSubjects\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiterary Fiction · Fiction in Translation · Norwegian Literature · Experimental Fiction · Absurdist Fiction · Nature \u0026amp; Isolation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9781916751712\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Old Post Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45324453249206,"sku":"9781916751712","price":30.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0731\/2264\/4150\/files\/9781916751712.jpg?v=1785859040","url":"https:\/\/oldpostbookshop.com\/products\/the-mystery-of-what-befell-in-the-ditch","provider":"Old Post Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}