Literature and Fiction · Hardback

Let Them Come

Norwegian title: Bare la dem komme

Jens M. Johansson

Let Them Come paints a fascinating portrait of a mother and woman. It is a brutal but beautiful novel about death, about the big and small things that make up a life. About being two and the fear of being left behind.

Tom goes into the forest. In this place, his mother has moved into an overgrown house by a lake. They have not seen each other for two years, and now she has become seriously ill. As death slowly circles in, Tom looks back on the life that has been: hers, his, theirs. Through memories, two lives marked by restlessness, love, and a certain talent for misfortune are conjured. And now one of the characters in this narrative is about to be lost, in the forest that is slowly closing in around them.

What do you do with the last piece of time you have together? Should Tom tell her where he has been for the last two years? And why?

Reviews: Johansson possesses an insight into human nature and an ability to portray a life's course that is rare (…) This has become a beautiful, powerful, personal, and wonderful little novel that can easily be read multiple times (…) Johansson confirms once again that he belongs right at the very top among our foremost living fiction authors.Nettavisen

It does not pile on catastrophes and loud cries of neglect, but it shines through clearly enough that here we are dealing with two lives that were far from smooth sailing. Yet neither of the two main characters is condemned because of it. That is also part of the novel's strength: the absence of moralizing qualms. Here we mostly encounter simply lived life, not accusations about who did what wrong.Fri Fagbevegelse

… the book reveals itself as a mosaic of information, giving the impression that the final piece of information is still only the penultimate one. Something remains. Many of the glimpses of memory are very good, in that they open up something for the reader (…) the reader is convinced without even thinking about it.Dag og Tid

Unsparing on mother and son. Jens M. Johansson’s eighth novel is among his very best.Dagens Næringsliv

With precision, the past is revealed bit by bit, giving depth and fresh realization to the novel’s present (…) The book is both tender and tough. That is a great combination.NRK

Just Let Them Come is a good book and a liberating expermination with genre. (…) a truly great portrait of a mother …Aftenposten