Some Kind of Company by Nan Ostman - Translated by Julia Rivers - #BookReview

"Penfriend?

72-year-old professional woman, a bit worse for wear, but healthy, hard-working, well-read, married, would like to exchange thoughts with single educated gentleman of mature years.

 

Answer to Bo Svensson - I never thought that I would receive so many answers to my advertisement - at seventy plus! (I believe that's how one describes one's age nowadays.) And married into the bargain. And at a time when most people prefer to use email and not many write ordinary letters. I read and pondered and felt a little saddened. Two of the letters were such heart-rending cries for help in their acute loneliness... but I am not a counsellor. I suspect that one reply was from a conman. He was, or claimed to be, fifty-two years old. What could he want with me, unless he thought that I had a bit of money saved up? There was something too ingratiating about the way he wrote."

Anna lives with her husband and their dog by the shores of a lake in the idyllic Swedish countryside. But her youth is far behind her, her husband rarely speaks and their children have long since left home and live at a distance. She fears that even the translation work which keeps her going will soon dry up.

In the hope of opening up a new chapter in her life, Anna advertises in the personal column of a newspaper for a male pen friend. She is gratified to receive a number of replies and begins exchanging letters with a widower called Bo. The outcome is both surprising and convincing.

***

By the time I had read the first few pages of this book, I knew I was going to like it. What I did not anticipate was just how completely I was going to fall in love with it, and with the main characters, Anna and Bo.

It is a complete antithesis to the incredibly popular, and often brutal, dark Swedish noir genre. In this novel the author presents a book of gentility and maturity.

Written in a beautifully understated prose, I found the reading experience rather like dancing to a slow waltz, enjoying a genuine thrill with every step. I deliberately read slowly as I did not want the story to end. I was completely under the author's spell and wanted Anna and Bo to find happiness. Of course, there are never spoilers in my reviews and I am not revealing whether they did or not.

The book addresses some interesting themes. Foremost, it carefully considers loneliness through the lens of Anna and Bo. Although Anna has a husband and family, her children have moved away and are busy with  their own lives. Her husband, Hakan, refuses to speak and in doing so forces her further along the road of loneliness. 

Set against the backdrop of rural Sweden we experience the harshness of the weather and how it feels to be completely cut off and alone. These visceral descriptions also led me to appreciate the beauty of the country. Elegantly depicted, the snow and ice found me reaching for a cardigan as I was so engaged with Anna's life and surroundings that I was physically experiencing the cold alongside her.

I am completely enchanted by this very special book, and I am already looking forward to re-reading it. Put simply; it is a beautiful, gentle and captivating novel and I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 1916289512

Publisher: Aspal Prime

About the Author:

Nan Inger Ostman (1923-2015) was a much loved Swedish writer and for many years the most heavily borrowed author in Swedish libraries. Born and raised in Ostermalm, a wealthy, tree-lined residential area of Stockholm, she graduated fro Stockholm University in 1946. Ostman began her career as a journalist, firstly with newspaper Svenska Dagblad, followed by a period at Morgon Tidning where she stayed until 1855. She then worked as a teacher, initially at the prestigious Lundsberg boarding school. While teaching, she began writing books and became a full-time author from 1980 onwards. In 1987 she won the significant Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

(photo courtesy of Ulla Montan)