The Guests
Lindstrøm, Merethe: Gjestene
Nominated for the Nordic Council's Award 2008
Nominated for the Norwegian Critics' Prize 2007
Since her debut in 1983, Merethe Lindstrom has had many critically acclaimed novels and short story collections published. In The Guests she returns with short stories that with carefulness and strength portray encounters between people. Determining moments that make the characters see themselves and others in a new light. A woman relives her first kiss, another person finds a lost love. A mother has to give away a daughter and meet her several years later, a father welcomes a son who has recently served a sentence in prison. Some encounters lead to the acknowledgement that what one thought was closeness, is distance – or the feeling of being a guest in one's own life and that of others.
Merethe Lindstrøm creates a strong depiction of characters and intense moments with literary security. The special strength of the stories lies in the tension between the subtle way of expression and the violent anxiety the subtext represents.
“There are depictions in this book that make your heart sink. It is done so brilliantly that it makes you wonder how the writer is able to do it. I know almost no one who can portray lonely and vulnerable people the way Lindstrøm can, and does it without the use of drastic language”
(Aftenposten)
“As the pure write that Lindstrøm is, she builds up her short stories with a lot of air and many indications. She has a remarkably elegant way of approaching destinies”
(Dagbladet)
First published: 2007, Aschehoug
Merethe Lindstrøm: Biography and bibliography
