This is beautifully written. It speaks of the flow of life and has wonderful insights into what it means to age. ( )

This is a tranquil, poetic story about a woman’s journey through an emotional landscape devoid of love.

L, the protagonist, who is not loved by her coldhearted husband leads a lonely life in a small Danish village in early 20th century where her only happiness lies with the class of elementary school pupils she teaches. Not until her husband dies (we know early on that this will happen) does time change for her and does she unfold herself to become the independent person she has always been at heart.

A story that will trick you into thinking it’s about mourning but is actually the opposite, a tale in which the passing of time plays a central role, going back and forth from the protagonist’s present day journal entries to memories of things past and back again.

Only at the very end L’s name is revealed, when she remains no longer unseen by those around her, ending in a joyful finale.

“I am not unprepared. My heart runs on ahead of me. And I, I run after my heart. I cannot be without it.”

Who can resist such a sentence? Highly recommended, this little Danish gem, translated into English by Martin Aitken. ( )

Pull a blanket over your knees, warm up the hot chocolate, and get contemplative. This is a wonderful, intelligent, beautiful book. Rare indeed that--plot spoiler--I enjoy a book with a happy ending quite this much. Jessen translated Marilyn Robinson; this book is like if Gilead was (even) more pleasurable to read. ( )

This novel set in Denmark in the first couple of decades of the 20th century, and consists of a woman's diary entries of her life with her domineering husband, who is 20 years older than she is and who dies. In widowhood, she begins to bloom. There is a lot of emphasis on nature and the simplicity of rural life.
One reviewer described it as describing a "journey out of loneliness."
I enjoyed this quiet and meditative novel. ( )

In this lovely, quiet book a woman reflects on her life following her husband’s death. Told in diary entries, we watch the husband’s rapid decline in hospital, and then see how the woman begins to adjust to living as a widow. We slowly piece together details of her life story: how she became a teacher, men she loved and lost, meeting her husband, and the ups and downs of their married life. But this story is far from linear. Some diary entries are simple narratives of her day, others recount memories from her past. Tiny details are dropped like breadcrumbs, but slowly the woman takes on shape and depth and the ending feels completely right.

Set in early 20th-century Denmark and translated from the Danish, there is a certain restraint to the language that makes for wonderful reading. There is as much said as not said, challenging the reader to pay attention and read between the lines. ( )