Linda Olsson

Para enfrentarse en soledad a una pérdida reciente, Veronika, una joven escritora, se instala en una casita de campo en una zona boscosa del interior de Suecia. En ese enclave donde reinan la paz y el silencio, su único contacto con el mundo es Astrid, una mujer taciturna que habita la única casa de los alrededores y con quien apenas intercambia un saludo de vez en cuando. En apariencia, las dos mujeres tienen poco en común: Veronika ronda la treintena, ha recorrido medio mundo y ahora busca la reclusión; Astrid, por el contrario, es anciana, nunca ha salido de su pueblo y no tiene quien la visite. Y sin embargo, a partir de una circunstancia imprevista, ambas inician una frágil relación que, a medida que el invierno deja paso a la primavera, va creando entre ellas un espacio de intimidad que les permite hablar de su pasado y sus recuerdos. Con la llegada de las primeras fresas silvestres, los secretos que atormentan a cada una de ellas saldrán a la luz, y su profunda y sincera amistad dará nuevo sentido a sus vidas.… (altro)

Marion West lives by herself on the west coast of New Zealand's Nort Island. One day she finds a little boy, Ika, lying face down on the beach. She takes him home & an unlikely friendship springs up between the two as Ika comes to trust Marion more. However her involvement with Ika forces her to revisit her childhood & the events that led her to isolate herself from human contact.......
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing which is just beautiful, almost lyrical. The descriptions are just as beautiful, I could see the ocean, almost smell it & walked with Marianne along the beach. It plods along at it's own pace but is far from boring. There were a few things in there I didn't pick up on. It touches on issues such as loss, redemption & grief. This is a very tragic story at times but isn't depressing at all.
Overall I enjoyed this story although I think I'll need to re-read it to fully understand it.… (altro)