Rödby-Puttgarden

Helle Helle - Rödby-Puttgarden

4/5

Helle Helle's Rödby-Puttgarden. AFAIK it's not translated into English, but it should be; this is an excellent shortish novel (204 pages) that reads a bit like a Scandinavian version of some Bruce Springsteen lyric from the late 70s - that feel of the ones left behind, the ones who barely even had a dream. It's about two sisters in their early and mid-20s living in the small town of Rödby (known all over Northern Europe for one thing only: it's where the ferries for Germany leave). It's the kind of town where a high school diploma is something impressive to have, since most who get it move away and are never seen again. It's a very hyperrealist tale, told in prose that doesn't try to sing but just holds on in the grey Baltic wind; short, sharp sentences and chapters, little glimpses of life. Yet there's subtext; the ferry goes back and forth with Charon... sorry, cars on, and they're the ones who never get too far from either side of the river. Never quite life, never quite death. Recommended to those who can read it. 4/5.

Mer kommer.