4 Books for a Holiday Weekend
These thoughtful, gripping reads are as transporting as a weeklong vacation.
By Kerri Arsenault
3 of 4
Love
By Hanne Orstavik
180 pages;
Archipelago
Translated by
Martin Aitken
Love can change everything. And it does in this
edgy, elegiac and beautifully written novel. Vibeke, a young single mother, and
her son, Jon, live in a remote village in Norway. On the night before Jon's
ninth birthday, they set out, each with a goal: Jon, to let his mother bake his
cake without him knowing, and Vibeke, to bump into a certain man she finds attractive.
But Vibeke forgets Jon's birthday, and Jon forgets his house keys. Over the
course of the evening, the two characters' narratives work together to expose
the vulnerability of their affections; they mistake and misinterpret each other's
intentions, just as they miss each other driving by in separate cars on a
lonesome road. What you think will happen doesn't—and what does breaks
your heart.
— Kerri Arsenault
Published 02/05/2018