First published 2012
Trond is fifteen and spending the summer of 1948 at a cabin with his father in eastern Norway. His friend Jon arrives at their door with a plan to steal horses for a joyride. The adventure takes an unexpected turn when Jon falls into a deep grief after the ride. Trond discovers that Jon experienced a terrible incident earlier that morning. This event triggers a cascade of losses that will shape both boys' lives. Decades later, sixty-seven-year-old Trond has retreated to an isolated cabin in the Norwegian wilderness. He wants to live his remaining years in solitude and peace. When he encounters his only neighbor, the meeting forces Trond back into memories of that pivotal summer. The story moves between past and present as Trond confronts how a single day changed everything.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, adult-fiction, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: past-present-narrative, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Norway, Eastern Norway
Period: 1948, Decades Later
274 pages · Kindle Edition · Graywolf Press