Literature and Fiction · Hardback

In the Best Sense

Norwegian title: I beste mening

Benedicte Meyer Kroneberg

Helene grew up with foster parents Anna and Helge. She has now started her own family and moved back to her home town in the hope of saving her marriage with Karl. It is winter, they are living in a huge old house, and Karl is working out of town. He says that he cannot come home because of the weather. This novel tells the story of Helene's search for companionship: about feeling like a guest in her foster parents' house, about young love, longing and loneliness. Helene and her growing sense of unease are headed for a storm: will Karl come home?I beste mening is an insightful novel about belonging. Benedicte Meyer Kroneberg explores communication problems in close relationships and how people can become lonely even in the most seemingly ideal situations. It is also a novel about those that fall between the cracks, about those who are too unforgiving for most, but not confident enough when it comes to those closest to them, and about how the incorrect assumptions we make about the motive of others can have serious consequences.

‘A strong story of being disconnected and the need to belong. … This book’s strength is the author’s insight into what it means to be human. It is with warmth that she investigates what is necessary to feel that you belong, how expectations of dedication can be too high and how trust is a risky business.’5/6 FÆDRELANDSVENNEN