UpLit / Literature and Fiction · Hardback

Witches and Birdwatchers

Norwegian title: Hekser og fuglekikkere

Magne Hovden

Ragna Emanualsen got pregnant at a young age, and never had time to find out what she wanted to do with her life. Ragna and her football-trainer husband Rune, the local hero, have drifted apart. What’s more, she’s becoming increasingly convinced he’s keener on men than women. Everyday life is turning into a predictable routine of children and husband. An absurd coincidence convinces Ragna that she has healing powers, and she signs up for a group tour led by a shaman to Vardø, one of the world’s most powerful energy points.

Tor Hellebust is longing for a break from his everyday life. His relationship with his wife Frida has cooled dramatically. Every day, Tor visits his senile mother at the nursing home, where he desperately tries to revive her memories. When Tor, a passionate birdwatcher, gets wind of a group tour to Vardø on an internet forum, he spies a chance to cross an extremely rare species, the cattle egret, off his observation list.

In Vardø, tensions build between the two groups, which are both deadly serious about their passions.