When Karnanne returns to the village she fled at sixteen, she finds that neither the past nor the stories she grew up with have released their hold on her.
After her life in Oslo begins to unravel, Karnanne leaves her husband and returns to the village where her sister Alicia was found dead in the river many years ago. Devastated by grief and surrounded by whispers, Karnanne was sent away. In many ways, she has been allowing others to make her choices ever since.
Now, living in her father’s house, she returns to the old local legends she once studied – stories of young women taken by the mountain – and to questions about Alicia’s death that have never been laid to rest. She also finds Ænar, her childhood friend, still there. Seeing him again begins to unsettle what Karnanne thought she knew about the life she left behind – and the one she has lived since.
As the past draws closer, Karnanne must begin to ask what happened to her sister, whom she can trust – and what it might mean, at last, to choose a life for herself.
A blend of Twin Peaks and Sweet Home Alabama.
Vårt Land
The Other Side of The River is dark-roasted crime fiction for those of us who are not particularly interested in crime fiction. With her debut novel, Therese Tungen places herself—also in terms of quality—in the same literary landscape as more seasoned Swedish colleagues such as Kerstin Ekman and Karin Smirnoff.
NRK
That such a wise, thoughtful, and sensitive reflection on loss can be transformed into a gripping story where the pages seem to turn themselves is something to be celebrated.
Morgenbladet
A compelling, slow-burning suspense novel with a touch of crime.
Adresseavisa
A blend of everyday life in rural Norway and a story of grief, rooted in folk legend.
Klassekampen
