The Jøssing Affair

By: J.L. Oakley

Narrated by: Chris Humphreys

Length: 22 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

British-trained Norwegian intelligence agent, Tore Haugland, is a jøssing - a patriot - sent to a fishing village on Norway’s west coast to set up a line to receive weapons and agents from England via the “Shetland Bus". Posing as a deaf fisherman, his mission is complicated when he falls in love with Anna Fromme, a German widow. Accused of betraying her husband, she has a young daughter and secrets of her own. 

Although the Allies have liberated France, the most zealous Nazis hang on in Norway, sending out agents to disembowel resistance groups. If Haugland fails, it could cost him his life and the lives of the fishermen who have joined him. When Haugland is betrayed and left for dead, he will have to find the one who betrayed him and destroyed his network. He will also have to prove that the one he loves was not the informer. In wartime, love and trust are not always compatible.

©2016 Janet Oakley (P)2021 Janet Oakley

A superb historical fiction novel

The Jøssing Affair is an award-winning fiction historical novel set during World War Two, in a Nazi occupied small fishing village in Norway. I am convinced that the author, J.L. Oakley, has gone to immense lengths in order to research this specific period in history, the people, their way of life and the events during those trying times. Although it’s a work of fiction, The Jøssing Affair is so well written, that at times it can be confused with the lovingly and caringly gathered memoirs of those who lived for so many years under the terror of the Gestapo.

Each and every one of the characters in this story felt real and alive to me. I cared for them, I suffered the harsh winter conditions alongside them, I rooted for their success and I’ve been afraid for them not to get caught.

The audiobook version of The Jøssing Affair is beautifully and breathlessly performed by actor, novelist and audiobook narrator Chris Humphreys. He reads with urgency, infuses the action with emotion and switches seamlessly between voices and accents.

Thanks to Janet Oakley’s flawless, flowing writing style and to the excellent narration by Chris Humphreys, you will be instantly transported to the time and place depicted in this must read novel for all World War II fans! Captivating, gripping, immersive and entertaining, The Jøssing Affair will satisfy everyone’s and anyone’s need for a well written historical spy novel.

The end result is a great audio production that raises the level of immersion to an all-time high for the listener. Although this was the first audiobook that I listened with Chris Humphreys as the narrator, I will be sure to check out more of his works.

Norway WW2

Totally absorbed in this fictional account of WW2 Norway. I honestly had never thought about this front of the war. Anyone who has heard of the Shetland Bus may have an inkling.

The first few minutes were confusing to me (so many names!) but the characters quickly became clear as the story developed. I was so invested in the story, cheering and crying and hoping….

Definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys history, languages and human interactions, especially under times of stress.

I felt that the narrator did a great job with the various characters and languages.

Enjoyed it through and through

In 2000 I visited Oslo and went to the Resistance Museum. I was surprised, at the time, that I had never heard about Norway’s role in WW2. Now, I can reflect on the true historical narrative values of the US K-12 system as well as general US college undergrad.

After that trip, I was always on the lookout for more ‘stories’ coming out of Norway, but found little. It just wasn’t an important storyline, I suppose.

I’m someone who has sat through 60+ hours of Audiobooks on the rise and fall of Hitler, which at times felt tedious. So I am compelled by this time in history and understand there are no short stories really, especially when you should care about the key characters.

Despite the length of this book, I felt intrigued throughout and always looked forward to continuing.

It was a very honest and satisfying conclusion, that stayed in line with the general trauma, chaos, loss, and recovery many stories from WW2 share.

The narration was pretty good and the only real complaint is sound editing. I just notice it when I listen to Audiobooks on general.

Very satisfied.

long dragged storyline

Terrible narration, " Haugland " every minute in this audiobook. I didn't finish it.

Complex But Enjoyable

Going into and planning for a 22+ hour audiobook read is quite a daunting task, but I cannot imagine the time and effort that Oakley put into writing it. The amount of detail that went into each character, setting, and chapter felt insanely well-researched. I could tell that Oakley was trying to write the most authentic book that she could while still calling it fiction.

I went into it pretty blind, not really knowing exactly what it was going to be about and it didn’t hurt or help my reading. After finishing it, I went to see what others thought about it (something I don’t normally do) because it was such an interesting book I had to know what other reviewers thought about it. I didn’t see any or many audiobook reviews, but I did see lots of great reviews on the kindle edition, and for good reason. It was interesting from beginning to end. I was genuinely worried I was going to get bored or that some things would be mundane as the book continued – but I didn’t feel that way very often. Oakley did a great job with the pacing and setting expectations of the flow of the book from the get-go.

I don’t want to talk too much about the story itself since this book is 500+ pages and 22+ hours – giving a one-paragraph synopsis wouldn’t be doing any of it justice. Just know that as a history nerd, I loved reading about things that I had no idea happened. This was definitely one of those historical topics.

Overall, I thought that Oakley’s The Jossing Affair was an interesting and thought-provoking historical fiction book. One that isn’t short on research or on intrigue. As I said above – it was complex but enjoyable. 22+ hours is a great way to spend a credit, especially if you’re into historical fiction about places and things you may have never known or heard about.