Tynset Add a review

Tynset is a lyrical work of prose published in 1965 by the German writer Wolfgang Hildesheimer. Often described as a novel, although not by Hildesheimer himself, it is a monologue of the thoughts of an insomniac over the course of a sleepless night. The central theme of Tynset, one of Hildesheimer's major works, is resignation in face of an absurd world. The first-person narrator from Tynset is also found in other works by Hildesheimer, and displays similarities with Hildesheimer himself. The work is named after Tynset Municipality in Norway, which the narrator imagines travelling to.

The book was a bestseller upon publication, attracted strong attention in the contemporary press, and was translated into several languages, but did not match the popularity of Hildesheimer's Lieblose Legenden ("Loveless legends"). Hildesheimer was awarded the 1966 Bremen Literature Prize for Tynset.