An elderly woman thinks about her former housekeeper, a woman her and her husband were close to for a period of time, before abruptly dismissing her. Everyone but she and her husband question what happened. The couple has silently agreed to not discuss their past. While he becomes more and more closed up, she tries to break out of the isolation and silence, for instance by speaking to a priest.
The novel is about the love between two people who have made important choices that define their entire existence, just to realize that some things can’t be omitted. The past not only resurfaces, it has been there all along.
Awarded the Nordic Council Literary Prize 2012 and the Norwegian Literary Critics’ Prize 2011.
Merethe Lindstrøm
Photo: Ellen Lande Gossner
Merethe Lindstrøm made her debut in 1983 with a collection of short stories, and has since published a number of short stories, novels and a children's book.
Her novel The Stone Collectors (1996) won her two awards, and she was also nominated for the prestigeous 2008 Nordic Council's Literary Prize and the Norwegian Critics' Award for her short story collection The Guests.
In 2008, she was awarded the Dobloug Prize for her entire literary work.
Rights sold to
Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, India/Malayalam, Macedonia, Portuguese, Serbia, Sweden, UK and USA
Other titles
Selected:
Gjestene (The Guests), 2007
Barnejegeren (The Child Searcher), 2005
Ingenting om mørket (Nothing about the Dark), 2003
Natthjem (A Shelter for the Night), 2002
Stedfortrederen (The Substitute), 1997
Steinsamlere (The Stone Collectors), 1996
Svømme under vann (Swimming under Water), 1994
Foreign rights
Oslo Literary Agency
Henrik Francke
Literary Agent, Literary fiction /
Forlaget Oktober
[email protected]
+47 913 53 922
Awards
The Dobloug Prize 2008
