Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg leser en roman med mørk humor, men datteren min synes den er trist. - I am reading a novel with dark humor, but my daughter thinks it is sad.

Jeg leser = I read / I am reading (context decides which).
You do not use å være (er) + a present participle like English “am reading”.
Jeg er leser would mean “I am a reader” (a person who reads), not an ongoing action.
jeg er å lese is simply ungrammatical.

If you really need to stress the ongoing aspect, you can say:

Jeg holder på å lese en roman = “I’m in the middle of reading a novel,”
but in most cases Jeg leser en roman is enough.

Why do we say en roman and not romanen?

Because you’re introducing the novel as something unspecified: a novel, not the novel.

en roman = a novel (indefinite, not known or specified)
romanen = the novel (definite, one the listener should know about)

So:

Jeg leser en roman = “I’m reading a (some) novel.”
Jeg leser romanen would be “I’m reading the novel,” implying both know which one.

Why is the preposition med used in en roman med mørk humor?

med literally means with, and this is a very common pattern in Norwegian:

en roman med mørk humor = “a novel with dark humor”
en film med mye action = “a film with a lot of action”
et hus med hage = “a house with a garden”

You could also say en roman som har mørk humor (“a novel that has dark humor”), but med is shorter and more natural here.

Is mørk humor a fixed expression, or just an adjective + noun?

It’s simply adjective + noun:

mørk = dark
humor = humour

Norwegian adjectives come before the noun, like English:

mørk humor = “dark humor”
morsom bok = “funny book”
lang film = “long film”

It’s also a fairly common collocation, just like English dark humor.

Why is it men here, and not some other word for “but”?

men is the normal conjunction for but in Norwegian, used just like English:

Jeg liker kaffe, men han liker te.
Det regner, men vi går ut.

There isn’t another everyday word that replaces men here. Words like derimot (“however”) or likevel (“nevertheless”) can contrast ideas too, but men is by far the standard word for but joining two clauses.

Why is it datteren min and not min datter?

Both are grammatically correct:

datteren min = literally “the daughter my”
min datter = “my daughter”

Differences:

datteren min (definite noun + possessive after) is more common and neutral in everyday Norwegian.
min datter (possessive before noun) often sounds a bit more formal, emphatic, or stylistic, especially in writing or speeches.

In a normal spoken-style sentence like this, datteren min is the most natural choice.

What is the function of -en in datteren?

-en is the definite singular ending for many common gender (masculine/feminine) nouns:

datter = daughter
datteren = the daughter

Other examples:

bok → boken / boka = book → the book
film → filmen = film → the film
hund → hunden = dog → the dog

So datteren min literally means “the daughter my”, which is how “my daughter” is usually built in Norwegian.

Why is synes used here and not tror?

Both can translate as think, but they’re used differently:

synes = think, have an opinion about something you experience/know
- Jeg synes den er trist. = I think it is sad / I find it sad.
tror = think, believe (when you’re uncertain or guessing, or about facts you’re not sure of)
- Jeg tror hun kommer i morgen. = I think (I believe) she is coming tomorrow.

In the sentence, the daughter is giving an opinion about the novel (how it feels to her), so synes is the correct verb.

Why is the pronoun den used and not det in synes den er trist?

The pronoun must match the grammatical gender of the noun it refers to.

roman is a masculine noun.
The corresponding pronoun is den (for masculine and feminine nouns).
det is used for neuter nouns and for some “dummy it” uses.

So:

Jeg leser en roman. Datteren min synes den er trist.
- den = the novel (masculine)

If the noun were neuter:

Jeg leser et dikt. Datteren min synes det er trist.
(dikt = neuter, so use det)

Why is there a comma before men?

Norwegian comma rules require a comma between two main clauses joined by men:

Jeg leser en roman med mørk humor,
(full clause: subject + verb + objects)
men datteren min synes den er trist.
(another full clause)

When men links two clauses that could stand as separate sentences, you put a comma before it:

Han ville komme, men han var syk.

So the comma here is correct and follows standard rules.

Does trist change form depending on gender or number?

In the predicate position (after er, blir, virker, etc.), trist stays the same:

Romanen er trist.
Filmen er trist.
Historien er trist.
De er triste. (plural adds -e)

As an attributive adjective (before nouns), it follows normal patterns:

en trist roman (masc/fem singular, indefinite)
et trist dikt (neuter singular, indefinite)
triste romaner (plural or definite forms: den triste romanen)

In the sentence synes den er trist, you’re using it predicatively, so simply trist is correct.

Could you also say Jeg holder på å lese en roman med mørk humor? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is also correct, but there’s a nuance:

Jeg leser en roman …
= “I read / I am reading a novel …”
Neutral, very common, and usually enough.
Jeg holder på å lese en roman …
= “I am in the process of reading a novel …”
Emphasises that it’s ongoing right now or in progress as an activity.

In everyday conversation, people almost always just say Jeg leser en roman … unless they really want to highlight that they’re in the middle of it.