AshehougAgency

Restoration

A woman travels back to her hometown on hearing that her fathers is seriously ill. While following him through his sickness until his dramatic death, she is forced to revisit the memories of her childhood. She also learns about a dramatic incident from the war, when her father and uncle helped smuggle a Russian prisoner of war over to Sweden. This story enables her to understand how her father became the man she has known: A charming man with a troubled relationship with alcohol, a father whom she as a child both loved and felt contempt for. She also understands that deep within this man carries a wounded child, just the way she herself does.

“A masterly first novel […] a well written, deeply moving story of death and family ties.”
(Dagbladet)

“[…] a very solid debut, a novel that demands attention, a carefully structured and well constructed work.”
(Aftenposten)

First published: Aschehoug, 2004
Wenche-Britt Hagabakken: Biography and bibliography