Really 4.5... a lovely book. ( )

audio fiction, epistolary (2 narrators; 6 hrs 30 min)
November 2023 bingo challenge; food on cover.

letters exchanged between a farmer's wife in Bury St. Edmonds (Suffolk, UK) and a widower working at the Silkeborg Museum (Denmark) which houses the Iron Age human sacrifice Tollund Man that she takes an interest in--they form a close friendship while discussing various archaeology/anthropology topics as well as their recent grief/losses and other reflections on their life experiences.

lovely letter writing, with the touch of romance that goes hand in hand with the old-fashioned, handwritten correspondence. ( )

Listened to this on a road trip - it was totally engrossing! ( )

Another winner from LT! I loved this book and I’m going to buy a copy to have on my shelves.

I really enjoy epistolary novels, and this one tugged at me harder than most because one of my closest friends lives in Denmark and he and I have been corresponding for years, so the parallel pushed it up that extra half star.

If you don’t have a friend in Denmark you correspond with, it’s still a good book. I’m not sure how to describe it really, except to say it feels like a very realistic correspondence between two people who have never met, yet have become close. There’s a hesitation, a caution, in the sharing of opinions that rings true and the storylines that slowly and subtly unfold are the storylines that unfold everyday, everywhere.

There’s no happy ending, but there’s no unhappy ending either. It ends with hope. A genuinely lovely story. ( )

Epistolary novel about a woman who contacts the Silkeborg museum in Denmark about Tollund Man, a (real) mummified man from the Iron Age. Her plans to visit the museum have gone awry due to the death of her traveling companion. The curator writes back, and they begin regular correspondence. Tollund Man is a common theme throughout their communications, but they expand their letters to include their personal lives, fears, and hopes. The end up forming a virtual friendship.

This book is beautifully written. It is a thoughtful and meditative book. The two share their daily lives and work through their questions and problems in written form. Each seems to find solace and a happiness from reading the other’s heartfelt missives. It was so nice to read a book that is positive in tone. It is also a reminder that letter writing has become a lost art but was so much richer and more personal than e-mail. Themes include the ramifications of decisions, loss, grief, regrets, loneliness, nostalgia, and second chances. Recommended to fans of character-driven or epistolary novels. Book clubs will find plenty of topics for discussion.

“Our letters have meant so much to us because we have both arrived at the same point in our lives. More behind us than ahead of us. Paths chosen that define us. Enough time left to change. So I will say at once—these letters have made a connection between us that puts us in a position of being the closest of friends. Even though we have never met.”
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