This is a wary, almost tense story of a middle-aged woman named Karin who leads a fairly solitary life — works at a jewelry store by day, spends the occasional evening out with a man she meets on a dating app. It picks up at a moment when her grown-up daughter Helene, who has just learned that her husband has been unfaithful, seeks out her mother’s company, wanting comfort. They are not particularly close, but close enough to take a weekend trip together. The novel follows them on their mini-vacation while also traveling back in time through Karin’s memories, particularly of her early years as a mother.
It’s an engaging read, but with an edge — there’s a vague sense of melancholy, and also a continuous low-level hum of danger; an awareness of the risks attendant to being a woman, alone, and the kinds of compromises it entails sometimes. Overall though, I really enjoyed it. It’s sharp, and subtle. A very promising debut.
Kasia Reads 