Literature and Fiction · Hardback

Feliz Navidad

Selma Lønning Aarø

Saga wants to arrange the perfect Christmas in Spain. She doesn’t do this without desperation because her mother suffers from dementia with elements of psychosis and has a habit of running away at the worst of times. Nevertheless, Saga has made up her mind, despite many cautions from a doctor friend. Christmas will be great. Everyone will have a nice time, celebrating in the usual way and – goddammit – in the absolute best way. Granddad and Grandma are in, her crypto-millionaire son is in, everyone is in. But challenges present themselves as soon as they arrive. Her mother can’t orientate herself in her new surroundings, the children are out of control, and why does her husband keep jogging to Benidorm?

Feliz Navidad is a humorous novel, but it is also written with fear, trembling and sorrow. It is a book about being a middle-aged woman, dealing with an unfaithful husband, a mother who keeps disappearing – and about who we become when things get hard.

«Feliz Navidad is a somewhat comical and painful novel about relationships, and about life hitting you right smack in the face in the middle of Christmas.»Dagbladet, five/six stars

«... an unsentimental and well-composed Christmas story that both women 50+ and all other readers will find resonate with.»Bergens Tidende, five/six stars

«... a deeply relatable relationship drama that balances humor with painful emotional undertones.»VG, five/six stars

«It's both an emotional odyssey and a love elegy at the same time.»Fredrikstad Blad, five/six stars

«Selma Lønning Aarø's hallmark as a writer is a humorous edge and a keen eye for human quirkiness and pettiness. But what truly shines in this novel is the descriptions of the mother and her increasing confusion. It is fresh, tender, and poetically depicted, all at the same time.»Aftenposten

«She depicts a person's mental confusion with warmth and precision. It becomes touching and terribly sad, but the complications also evoke laughter.»NRK

«Feliz Navidad is a great Christmas novel. […] it works well as entertainment, and it’s also at times both touching and gripping.»Stavanger Aftenblad