2026
From Brage Prize–winning author Gaute Heivoll comes an extraordinarily intimate portrait of a woman struggling to protect her vulnerable child while trying to free herself from her own loneliness.
It is 1974, and Else is barely out of school when life suddenly seems to accelerate. She takes a job as a substitute teacher in a small village school, loses her father that same winter, and meets Torstein, who works on an oil platform in the North Sea. Before she has even turned twenty, they are living together and expecting their first child.
Their daughter Helene is spirited and strong; their son Atle is a more sensitive child. Else feels an immediate affinity with him, recognizing in her son something of the girl she once was. As Atle grows older and struggles to find his place among his friends, the bond between mother and son becomes ever stronger – and increasingly complicated.
The Wind Through Us is a tender, perceptive literary novel about family, belonging, and the powerful ties between parents and children. At its heart is Else. With warmth and psychological insight, the novel explores the many faces of love – how we care for those closest to us, how we see ourselves in them, and how even our deepest love can sometimes make it difficult to let go.
This story easily brings to mind novels such as John Williams’ Stoner and Robert Seethaler’s A Whole Life.
The book about Tomas is tender and moving. And beautifully written.
Gaute Heivoll
Paul Audestad
