My gentle self
Mitt milde vesen
An elderly woman stops talking to her daughter, prompting the daughter to tell the story of her parents’ lives, of how they met and of their marriage, which ended abruptly when her father disappeared without trace. This eventually brings her to reflect on her own marriage.
The novel is set in an abandoned nursery-garden on the shores of an oppressively beautiful fjord in western Norway. In prose rich in rhythm and movement, the book seeks to delve deeper into the mystery the family is doomed to live with. In this novel, gentleness is a cloak for aggression and love is transmuted into something quite different.
Det Norske Samlaget 2006
207 pages
Praise for Alt som er, novel 2004:
“Enthralling and magnificent … A family chronicle very much out of the ordinary, told in beautiful and translucent language.” (Dagsavisen)
“Enchanting from Bildøen … She possesses a linguistic sensuality and femininely physical ability to make language move." (Dagbladet)
“An intricately plotted and beautifully written book about the choices love offers, about enjoying love – and also about having to do without.” (Adresseavisen)