Wait, Blink

by Gunnhild Øyehaug · read August 13, 2021

Review

Quirky in its form and voice. The ten main characters are loosely connected in reality (lovers, friends, ex-lovers, coworkers) but share certain qualities of their "inner lives", most notably the desire for connection and recognition. I liked the novel's creativity and focus on art; at times the writing style made the prose feel laborious. Viggo and Elida's storyline was my favourite.

She's twenty-three years old, and she's already a boat that's frozen in ice. If this were a film, and she were some miserable, closed person, she thinks, something would happen at this point to pull her out of her reclusiveness. If she had braces and wore glasses, this would be the point where someone came along and taught her to wear contact lenses and makeup, and someone else would do her hair. ... But that's not reality! Sigrid wants to shout. People just stay sitting in their rooms. They sit there, and nothing happens. They don't change, they just stay the same. Even if they're only twenty-three years old!

Julia Rodenburg © 2024