Days in the History of Silence
By all accounts, Eva and Simon should be able to look back on their lives with very few regrets. Eva made a career for herself as a doting teacher, Simon became an accomplished physician, and they jointly raised three children while creating a warm and loving home. Now, with Simon’s health rapidly declining in his later years, many of Eva’s memories, long suppressed, begin to resurface. Between the chilling memory of a long-ago home intruder and the abrupt dismissal of a beloved housekeeper, Eva begins to wonder just how ideal her marriage really was and how many memories she and Simon have left to share. This deeply intimate character portrait dwells in the intersection of nostalgia, loss, and forgotten histories. The narrative is mainly episodic, allowing the reader glimpses into a marriage marred by depression and repression. Bruce’s translation allows Lindstrøm’s sparse and evocative prose to shine, giving equal weight to both highly dramatic and domestically mundane events. Fans of Anne Holt, Nicholas Mosley, and Max Frisch will savor Days in the History of Silence. --Stephanie Turza