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I’ve thought quite a bit about the characters since I finished reading the book. There are some elegant contrasts - Kristoffer’s elder brother is ambitious and thrusting and quickly moves on from situations whereas Kristoffer struggles. His friend Mats is more outgoing but you can still see why the friendship works so well - and endures despite the odd hiccup. They’re real people as they come off the page. The men are more compelling than the women, but that’s a very minor quibble.
I’ll offer a warning straight away: if you like your books to be fast and pacy with lots of action then this really isn’t going to be the book for you. If, on the other hand, you’re prepared to take the time to get to know the characters, to watch their relationship relationships develop, to understand the way of life in this part of Western Norway then you’re going to be richly rewarded. You’ll even develop a relationship with the two dogs in the story. We know that something terrible is going to happen - we have a glimpse of the future right at the beginning - and O H Robsson teases us very cleverly as to what it might be and who is involved.
Robsson lives a farm in Western Norway with his two dogs and he was a photographer until he took (very) early retirement from the profession to become an author. He has a great talent for bringing the countryside to life and I loved his descriptions of the photo shoots - particularly ‘walking on water’. As a bonus in the book you’ll find some of Robsson’s photography - and it’s stunning.