My Bookshelf: Astrid & Veronika
Posted by Kate on April 24th, 2009. Filed under: My Bookshelf, Strategic Communications.Astrid & Veronika
by Linda Olsson
Read: April 2009
Description:
In Linda Olsson’s debut novel, Veronika Bergman returns to Sweden after a childhood following her diplomat father around the world and after publishing her first novel titled Single, One Way, No Luggage. She rents a small house in a rural town to work on her second book, but finds herself tormented by nightmares and the memories of her recently deceased fiancé. Astrid Mattson, an old, reclusive woman thought by the village to be a witch, lives across the way and takes an interest in Veronika. The two strike up an unlikely friendship based on loss and pain. Against the backdrop of the changing seasons and their small, intimate houses, the two women slowly tell each other their most closely guarded secrets, and venture, cautiously, out of the safety of their routines.
My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed following the relationship that developed between Astrid and Veronika. Although a story in which two damaged people have the good fortune to find each other and help one another through their pain sounds cliche, the story felt original and the relationship between the two characters was a breath of fresh air.
I thought the lack of dialogue and focus on descriptions and character thoughts would make the story hard for me to get through. However, I felt the characters were sympathetic, and I was interested in learning more about each character’s history which kept me moving easily through the narrative.
Although Olsson tries to be subtle and cryptic in her revelation of traumatizing events in Astrid and Veronika’s lives, she ends up just being vague. Plus, the reader is hit over the head with hints of what is to come. For instance, Veronika repeatedly demonizes the ocean, leading the reader to predict a life will be taken by the ocean way before that actually happens.
Plus, I was not satisfied with the ending. Without giving too much away, I thought that one character left the other character with more pain and loss and possibly guilt, which was what both characters were trying to overcome the entire story through this relationship.
