The Bonfire

“The teacher was exactly as commonplace as a teacher is supposed to be in such a small corner of the world.” Thus begins Hobæk Haff’s modern classic The Bonfire. Though being commonplace, the teacher is also different: with her vast knowledge of herbs she cures her students of a number of ailments. Within the span of a year, two men arrive in the community—a friendly, taciturn shoemaker, and an alluring, dangerous painter, the latter charming the locals and the teacher alike, leaving devastation in his wake. With this highly praised novel, Hobæk Haff distances herself from strict realism, writing a timeless story of the tension between the good and evil sides of human existence.