Keeper of the Protocols illuminates the work of one of Norway's dominant post-war literary figures. Jens Bjørneboe is seen as a consciously European writer, and the book traces the influence and congruence in his works with other European writers and thinkers of international stature: Kafka, Strindberg, Brecht, Sartre, Camus, and Conrad. This book also traces Bjørneboe's trajectory as a former painter with highly esthetic concerns, to his most lasting literary works, which balance an existential and mystic view with social engagement. From the young poet in the thrall of Rilkean poetics, the discussion moves through his History of Bestiality novel trilogy and his last works - an assault on Western culture from a peculiarly European perspective.
"For those as yet unfamiliar with the extraordinary writings, novels, plays, essays, and poetry of Jens Bjørneboe, Joe Martin's 'Keeper of the Protocols' will come as an eye-opener. To those who know Bjørneboe already, their understanding will be enriched by this sophisticated yet beautifully accessible book. Bjørneboe's writings, as Martin shows, take us to the heart of concerns of this century, of inhumanity to men and women, and efforts to go beyond horror - efforts that finally carried Bjørneboe in 1976 to a place of such loneliness that suicide was the only answer. But his writings have a luminosity now finally beginning to penetrate the English-speaking world. Both we and Bjørneboe are in Joe Martin's debt." (John Fuegi, Author of Brecht & Co.)
"Joe Martin's comprehensive study of the work of Jens Bjørneboe makes a convincing case for Bjørneboe's place among that small company of twentieth-century authors who have dealt in fundamental, searching, and innovative ways, with the most profound moral and ethical questions of this troubled century. The philosophical depth and the technical novelty of Bjørneboe's novels and dramas entitle them to much greater international attention from the English-language community than they have so far received, and Martin's thoughtful introduction should encourage this significant project." (Professor Marvin Carlson, Graduate Center, City University of New York)
"Joe Martin's comprehensive study of the work of Jens Bjørneboe makes a convincing case for Bjørneboe's place among that small company of twentieth-century authors who have dealt in fundamental, searching, and innovative ways, with the most profound moral and ethical questions of this troubled century. The philosophical depth and the technical novelty of Bjørneboe's novels and dramas entitle them to much greater international attention from the English-language community than they have so far received, and Martin's thoughtful introduction should encourage this significant project." (Professor Marvin Carlson, Graduate Center, City University of New York)