She Travelled Alone
I put the Dumas back and find a different title. “To my grandchild”, it says on the cover in gold lettering. Mother was given it by Rakel for Christmad one year. “It’s empty, but the idea is that you write your story down, Grandma,” Rakel said excitedly. Mother smiled at Rakel and held the book against her chest. She’s never going to write in it, I thought. Not one word. In a neat hand, she has filled the book. Both sides of each page. Her calligraphy grips me, its elegant lines leading me into a story I never knew she was holding onto.
The language is beautiful, simple and unsentimental...There is a nostalgia about the whole novel, at the same time as it is easy to read, entertaining and surprising. This is a truly beautiful novel that I can easily recommend. You should read Three Women first too. The books do something to you.
Marianne Søiland, Ebokbloggen, Norway