Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs
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Veronika, a writer in her early thirties, rents a house in the Swedish countryside to finish her novel. She is also cocooning herself from her past. She befriends Astrid, a reclusive older woman who has lived in the village all her life. Olsson leads us through the flowering of their unusual and tender friendship, as they slowly and carefully reveal their life histories and sometimes heart-rending pasts. The Swedish landscape is always a powerful presence and measures the progress of the women's relationship; as the icy winter and bare trees give way to spring and then summer, the women's friendship deepens. Veronika divulges the death of her fianci James, a New Zealander, and Astrid exposes her terrible family background: a mother who committed suicide, an abusive father, an unhappy marriage and the death of her daughter. As the women grow closer, they find peace within themselves. A stunning first novel by a new writer with genuine talent. She is highly praised by her mentor Witi Ihimaera. Also available as an eBook
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''July 1942, Vastra Sangeby, Dalarna, SwedenWhen the sun dipped behind the wall of trees, we lay down and the white night swallowed us. It has been night ever since.''
Two women find each other in the middle of nowhere, in the heart of the Swedish countryside as spring turns to summer. Divided by age but united in sorrow, Veronika and Astrud begin to unburden their souls as the midnight sun paints Nature in luminous, tender colours until winter comes again, signalling a new beginning.
‘'The grey weather prevailed. It was as if time stood still. It didn't snow, but nor was there any sun. Invisible crows cowed in an otherwise silent world.''
The countryside provides the ideal scenery for Olsson's story to unfold. The unpredictable weather, the silence, the nightly sky, the moose and the owls, the firs and the paths, the sun reflecting its healing rays across the open fields. It is as if Mother Nature is standing still, waiting for the words that need to be spoken and heard. The confessions, the pain of the past, the doubts of the future. As the birch trees murmur to each other, the two women of Olsson's beautiful tale start shaking old feathers.
‘'Kom, satt dig ned till mig, jag skall beratta dig om mina sorger, vi skola tala med varandra om hemlighteter.
Come, sit by me, and I shall tell you all my sorrows; we shall talk to each other about secrets.''
We experience early spring days and nights. Serene summer evenings. Uncertain autumn afternoons. The bitter cold of winter. We are witnesses of confessions about motherhood and womanhood. About loneliness and voluntary isolation, about dreams born and thwarted. About Life's cruel tendency to alter everything in the blink of an eye when we're left alone to pick up the broken pieces. And the silence of the Swedish summer makes their words travel far, entering our hearts.
''Limu, limu limaDear God let the sun shineover mountains so blueover maidens so smallwho wander the woodsin summertime.''
Astrid commits a shocking act that goes against everything that is sacred. Veronika experiences a terrible loss at a time when life seemed an eternal summer. The two women have looked upon the terrible face of Death and their world has fallen apart. However, the power of companionship, the instinct of the human soul to survive and the relationship between the Person and Nature have the power to heal the wounds. When winter arrives, it carries the promise of a clean start.
And this novel will give you the strength to go on in the darkest of times...
‘'...for the day is you,and the light is you,the sun is you,and all the beautiful, beautifulawaiting life is you.''
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