December 1, 2023
Birkelund (The Runaway Wife) returns with a story about translator Ilse, who leaves her isolated home on the coast of Greenland for a beautiful village in Provence, where she translates an elderly poet's works. When the poet's son visits, Ilse will have to decide on the life she wants. Prepub Alert.
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March 25, 2024
Birkelund (The Runaway Wife) sets her enchanting tale of love and loss in exotic Greenland and sun-dappled Provence. Translator Ilse Lund, 35, has built a career on Greenlandic editions of French literature, despite never setting foot in France. When a publisher offers her a lucrative and prestigious job translating renowned poet Geoffrey Labaye, Ilse insists she needs to spend several weeks in Provence with the author. To her surprise, her publisher agrees. The trip for Ilse, who's never left Greenland, is life-changing. Labaye opens her eyes to afternoon aperitifs, the game of boules, and other aspects of French culture, and she learns how some things can't quite be explained in French until they're experienced. Then Labaye is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and Ilse, realizing her work will be cut short and having fallen in love with the country, considers moving to France full time. Birkelund constructs a rich world replete with real emotional stakes and lovely insights on how translation relates to life ("Qaatsit ataasiinnaat naammanngillat," in Greenlandic, translates as "One language is never enough"). This sumptuous tale deserves a wide audience.
May 1, 2024
Ilse Erlund loves so much about her homeland, but she is also curious about places beyond Greenland. Becoming a professional translator of works written in English, Danish, and French has provided some connection with the world outside of her isolated island, and she loves the challenge. When given a unique opportunity to travel to Provence and translate the poetry of living legend Geoffrey Labaye, Ilse knows this opportunity was meant for her, and she must take it. After beginning their work together, Ilse and the poet find themselves in a once-in-a-lifetime friendship. Birkelund's novel centered on the power of words and their impact on individuals is, as it should be, a beautifully written, deeply immersive, touching, and intellectually challenging. The detailed descriptions of the history and contemporary culture of such different places would have been enough to enrich many tales, but the additional exploration of how language, original and translated, shapes people adds another fascinating dimension, with each savored page a gift. Readers who enjoy armchair travel, generational family connections, small-town familiarity, and transportive writing will find Birkelund's novel utterly compelling and completely satisfying.
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