I’m telling you, the folks at Unbridled Books just get cooler and cooler. As if publishing some of the best books I’ve read in the last few years isn’t enough, they took time to ask several of their authors to write surprise guest posts so that several bloggers could have a taste of “Unbridled Holiday Cheer” and an extra day off! I’m thrilled to welcome Peter Geye, author of Safe from the Sea, back to The Book Lady’s Blog.
It’s not that having dinner with ten kids under the age of six isn’t my idea of fun—what could be more fun?—but when asked, “What writer, alive or dead, would you most like to have dinner with this holiday season?” my mind fairly exploded. A better question might have been, “What writer wouldn’t you like to have dinner with?”
So I headed to my bookshelves and started culling. Here’s what I settled on: This Christmas-in-my-mind I’m having dinner with the Norwegians. Henrik, Knut, Per, and Tarjei. Just the five of us, in Tarjei Vesaas’ Telemark farmhouse. We’ll all sit there silently, sipping our coffee and eating our bread and cheese and soused herring (there’s no lutefisk at this feast). Once in a while one of us will grunt and the others will grunt back and maybe smirk. After our third cup of coffee Henrik Ibsen will open a bottle of Aquavit and pour us each a finger. He’ll talk about the long view. After three or four of Aquavits, Knut Hamsun will start talking about what it was like writing Hunger. When I tell Tarjei that The Birds is one of my very favorite books, he’ll only nod and smile thanks. He’s heard this before.
Eventually the ghosts will disappear and it’ll just be me and Per Petterson. It’ll be snowing outside, and the candles on the Christmas tree will cast crazy shadows and he’ll give me the inside scoop on how to write an international bestseller. We’ll finish the ‘Vit and call it a night.
Maybe in the morning we’ll go skiing through the forests around Vinje, way in the hell up north, out with the real Christmas trees.
Peter Geye is the author of Safe from the Sea published by Unbridled Books. He was born and raised in Minneapolis and continues to live there with his wife and three children.
Related posts:
Book Review: Safe from the Sea by Peter GeyeThe Bare Necessities—Peter Geye (SAFE FROM THE SEA)My full-on confession of Christmas dorkitude…Author Joanna Smith Rakoff on Why She Hates BookstoresThere's More on Craigslist than Ikea Furniture [guest post by Gina Welch, author of IN THE LAND OF BELIEVERS] Filed Under Guest Posts4 Comments -->Comments4 Responses to “”
aguja onDecember 29th, 2010 7:57 amThis is just brilliant. i love the fantasy Christmas Dinner and your writing style. It is also amusing and fun to read.
Jennifer-Girls Gone Reading onDecember 29th, 2010 9:29 amLove this! Who wouldn’t want to eat alone with just Per Petterson??
Jennifer-Girls Gone Reading´s last blog ..Review- American Rose
Rebecca Rasmussen onDecember 29th, 2010 10:54 amOh I want to come to this Christmas dinner! And I definitely want to be out with the real Christmas Trees afterward 
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by amycrea and Rebecca Schinsky. Rebecca Schinsky said: Author Peter Geye Imagines “A Christmas Dinner of the Mind” http://goo.gl/fb/h30WE [...]
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