Literature and Fiction · Hardback

AS THE TREE FALLS

Norwegian title: Slik treet faller

Britt Karin Larsen

Winner of the Dobloug prize

A farmhand comes to one of the big farms in Finnskogen, Valkola,and steals the aging Valborg's heart. Across the ocean, Amy finds a friend among the Native Americans. This new friend has abrother she also meets.?Nils and Elin, who now live in Oslo, dream about the smallholding they're going to buy. Will their dream ever become reality? Daniel, Taneli and Lina's son, who once dreamt of seeing his homeland and Finnskogen again, falls ill aboard the ship from America. The god child is still waiting for Karin with the beautiful voice to come home from America.The plot in Britt Karin Larsen'sSlik treet faller switches between those who emigrated to America and the remaining Forest Finns in Kristiania and Finnskogen. In this novel, the seventh in the series, events move up to the Second World War, when the Forest Finns are hit just as hard as the rest of Norway. Many of those growing up in Finnskogen are living in poverty, and things don't get any better when most of them turn to communism and are therefore not allowed to work.It is perhaps in portraying the strength and solidarity possessed by these distinguished and vulnerable people that Britt Karen shows her greatness as an author.

‘Beautiful, poetic and magnificent.’6 out of 6 VG‘Most of all, it is the intimate details that draw us in. Here you will find love and jealousy, longing and sorrow, and most of all destiny. ... The novel is a mosaic of short episodes that together constitute a great drama of destiny about small yet strong people in the mighty and merciless maelstrom of time that will not stop for anything or anyone.’DAG OG TID ‘What is most compelling is how she manages to maintain the action without any deadlocks, especially with a huge cast of characters that are always developing. ... Her novels are about mankind’s longing to fit in even though the urge to withdraw is just as strong. And it is in the tension between these forces that this wide-ranging family chronicle evolves.’HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD‘This is classic storytelling from the heart and mind, using a poetic language that gives literary lift.’DAGSAVISEN

‘Poetic and beautiful … Britt Karin Larsen’s very personal and lyrical language sets her apart from other Norwegian writers.’VG about SOM STEINEN SKINNER‘Fantastic stories from Finnskogen Himmelbjørnens skog is an unexpectedly rich and earthy tale, crudely expressed and yet sophisticated. Superb!’ADRESSEAVISEN about HIMMELBJØRNENS SKOG

‘Britt Karin Larsen’s prose is sheer poetry and she has a great capacity for engagement.’WERMLANDIA, SWEDEN about DET VOKSER ET TRE I MOSTAMÄGG