Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Romanen blander alvor og humor på en måte som overrasker meg. - The novel mixes seriousness and humor in a way that surprises me.

It is capitalized only because it is the first word in the sentence. If it appeared in the middle of a sentence, it would normally be written romanen with a lower-case r. Norwegian only capitalizes common nouns at the beginning of a sentence, not elsewhere (unless they are proper names).

Why is the definite form romanen used instead of en roman?

Norwegian marks definiteness with a suffix:

en roman = a novel
romanen = the novel

In this sentence, romanen implies a specific novel that speaker and listener already know about (for example, the book they are currently discussing). Using en roman would sound like introducing an unspecified novel, more like:

En roman blander alvor og humor ... = Some novel / A novel mixes seriousness and humor ...

So the definite form matches the English meaning the novel.

What is the form and tense of blander, and how would it translate into English?

Blander is the present tense of the verb å blande (to mix / blend).

Norwegian present tense usually covers both English simple present and present progressive, so:

Romanen blander alvor og humor can be understood as:
- The novel mixes seriousness and humor, or
- The novel is mixing seriousness and humor (in a more descriptive context)

Here it naturally corresponds to mixes in English.

Why do alvor and humor not have any articles?

Alvor (seriousness, gravity) and humor are abstract, uncountable nouns here, so they are used without articles:

blander alvor og humor = mixes seriousness and humor

That is similar to English using no article with abstract nouns in general statements:

mix love and hate
feel anger and fear

They could take an article if you make them more specific, for example:

det dype alvoret = the deep seriousness
den mørke humoren = the dark humor

But in this sentence, they are general qualities, so no article is needed.

What does på en måte mean, literally and idiomatically? Why not i en måte?

Literally:

på = on
måte = way, manner
på en måte = on a way

Idiomatic meaning: in a way / in a manner.

Norwegian uses på with måte in this expression, not i. So:

på en måte = in a way
på en interessant måte = in an interesting way
Han sa det på en rar måte. = He said it in a strange way.

I en måte is not used; it sounds ungrammatical to native speakers in this context.

What does som refer to in på en måte som overrasker meg, and is it more like that or which?

In på en måte som overrasker meg, the word som is a relative pronoun. It refers back to måte:

på en måte = in a way
som overrasker meg = that surprises me / which surprises me

So the whole chunk means:

på en måte som overrasker meg = in a way that surprises me

In English you could use either that or which here; Norwegian keeps it simple and just uses som.

You cannot drop som in this sentence.
på en måte overrasker meg would change the structure and not mean the same thing.

Why is the word order som overrasker meg and not som meg overrasker?

Inside the relative clause som overrasker meg, the underlying subject is måte (the way), and meg is the object:

(måten) overrasker meg
(the way) surprises me

Norwegian neutral word order in a clause is Subject–Verb–Object, just like in English. So the natural order is:

som overrasker meg = that surprises me

Som meg overrasker would correspond to that me surprises, which is not the intended meaning and is ungrammatical here. The object meg follows the verb overrasker.

Why is it overrasker meg and not overrasker jeg?

Norwegian distinguishes between subject and object pronouns:

jeg = I (subject form)
meg = me (object form)

In som overrasker meg, the implied subject is måte (the way), and meg is what is being surprised, so meg must be in the object form:

måten overrasker meg = the way surprises me
jeg overrasker måten would mean I surprise the way, which makes no sense.

So after the verb, in object position, you use meg, not jeg.

What is the difference between overrasker meg, overrasket meg, and har overrasket meg, and how is that different from jeg er overrasket?

All are based on the verb å overraske (to surprise):

overrasker meg – present tense
- som overrasker meg = that surprises me
- Describes something that is (still) surprising, or a general characteristic.
overrasket meg – simple past
- som overrasket meg = that surprised me
- Refers to something that surprised you at some time in the past.
har overrasket meg – present perfect
- som har overrasket meg = that has surprised me
- A past surprise that has relevance now (similar nuance to English).

Adjectival form:

jeg er overrasket – I am surprised
- Here overrasket works like an adjective (surprised), not a verb in a clause like som overrasker meg.

Can I say Romanen blander alvor og humor på en overraskende måte instead? What is the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Romanen blander alvor og humor på en overraskende måte.

This means The novel mixes seriousness and humor in a surprising way.

Differences:

på en måte som overrasker meg
- Literally: in a way that surprises me
- Explicitly personal: it is me who is surprised.
på en overraskende måte
- Literally: in a surprising way
- More general; it just describes the way as surprising, without stating who is surprised.

If you want to keep the personal element with the adjective, you could say:

på en overraskende måte for meg = in a surprising way for me.

Can the phrase på en måte som overrasker meg be moved to another place in the sentence?

Yes, but you must respect verb-second word order in main clauses.

Neutral, natural word order is:

Romanen blander alvor og humor på en måte som overrasker meg.

You can front the prepositional phrase for emphasis:

På en måte som overrasker meg blander romanen alvor og humor.

This is grammatically correct but more marked, somewhat stylistic or literary. In speech and normal writing, speakers usually keep it after the object, as in the original sentence.

What happens if I drop meg and just say på en måte som overrasker?

If you say:

på en måte som overrasker

it means in a way that is surprising, without saying who is surprised.

So:

på en måte som overrasker meg = in a way that surprises me (specifically me)
på en måte som overrasker = in a way that is surprising (in general)

Both are grammatically fine. The version with meg is more explicitly personal.