Hunger

Lina Nordquist

Book of the Year in 2022

In the early 20th century, Unni, Armod and little Roar are forced to flee Norway due to Unni performing illegal abortions and were pending imprisonment. They need to find a new home in Sweden and amid the blue mountains and the pitch-black forest in Hälsingland, they stumble across an abandoned cottage. It’s located somewhere between the wilderness and a small village, and the family of three must bunker down in the cottage. They need to adapt to the new country and survive the force of nature and the viciousness of the farmer who owns the cottage.

In the 70’s, Kåra sits by the dining room table that Armod crafted himself. She’s planning the funeral for Roar, her father-in-law. While planning, Kåra has noticed flaws in the family history and when she begins to peal of the layers the flaws turn into deep fractures and Kåra discovers unspoken secrets that has been passed through generations. What really happen in the cottage all those years ago? And with a love greater than all for her family; why did Unni abandon them in the end?

Kåra feel her agitation grow the deeper she digs into the family past, and she feels an urge to break the chain of silence about everything that lays hidden. If she doesn’t, Kåra fears the madness in her mind will once and for all take over.

Hunger is a gripping and dark family drama told through generations about love, and family ties. Through Unni and Kåra, Lina Nordquist beautifully jumps between two timelines, and depicts love that concurs all boarders, and how we are all in the end dependent of one another.