Review: Two novels by Kjersti Annfinnsen

The first chapter in Norwegian Kjersti Anfinnsen’s novel « The Last Caresses » is called « The List ». It is the novel’s protagonist, an old woman named Birgitte Solheim, who produces it. Not to check this week’s « to do », but to iron another post on it: her last living friend’s name – now she has also died. Then Birgitte joins that list.

In other words: « The last caresses » are about the time in life when there is not much future left. The novel is part of a trilogy, whose first two parts have been translated into Swedish and whose third part comes in Norwegian this year.

Birgitte Solheim has been an internationally successful cardiac surgeon, who never had time or desire to raise a family or any other long -term relationships. Now she sits alone in an apartment in Paris and looks out at the street, at people, rain and sunshine and at a funeral home. Over the computer she talks – card cut, often nasty – with her little sister at home in Norway. That she has contact with some other people, a man who comes home and takes care of her hair and a restaurant owner, is because she has money.

Annfinnsen tells her History in self -form. Birgitte’s voice is crass, clear -sighted, harsh humorous and fairly cynical. All sentimentality and all nostalgia are banned. Expressions such as « enough about this » and « it is as it is » returns.

The style is factual, the adjectives are few and environmental descriptions scarce. Annfinnsen leaves most of the work to the reader, and with her scarce word use she also manages to give me tools for it. I think I understand that Birgitte Solheim was an unloved child. So she became good.

By a mother who did not tolerate any emotional expressions and where the only thing that gave attention was the sibling competition – « it became vital to be the fastest, strongest, smartest, most sustainable, » she was trained in the qualities needed to take a seat in the operating room, but not in a loving person. When she had a job she was important and what she did felt meaningful. Even when she failed, and a child’s life could not be saved, she realized that the paralyzed parents thought she had done her best. But when her mother and sister always asked her to come home for Christmas, and she always made sure to book work during that time, she wonders why they couldn’t understand that she did as best she could. And she couldn’t close proximity. It can be so sad that a person can follow a life advice she believes in, « be yourself » – and that is why it gets lost.

Halfway into the first novel, however, what is called « a miracle ». Birgitte has met a man online! « When Javiér looks at me, I again get a tenderness for the surroundings. »

It hardens, aging seizes around it

The second part, « moment for eternity », begins at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, where Birgitte and Javiér have taken place for her to receive an award for her previous vocational performance. However, they dare not leave the hotel room, it is so slippery in town. « So we sit in each chair with a blanket and look out each window while we wait to be picked up. Although Javiér has fallen asleep, and I almost don’t see anything. »

It hardens, aging seizes around it. Birgitte continues to do as best she can here in existence, but she knows less.

The strange thing about these two novels is that there is nothing wrong with them, neither in style nor content, but that they still slip past me. They feel a bit like a writing exercise, as if the anchor has given themselves a task, « write about a really old person », and then she has solved the task in a meritorious way. But why did she give up that task?

Maybe she wanted to show that even old people are people, and not necessarily particularly cute ones. It is undeniably an unusual theme for novels and you can therefore think important, but when you constantly feel an intention in a novel, even reading is disturbed. Or mine will be it anyway. I think that if you are a person who likes to merge a book and feel: « How nice you can portray a really old person » you will enjoy these novels.

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