Solace

Lina Nordquist

Lina Nordquist, Winner of Book of the Year in 2022,

returns with a new heartbreaking literary novel.

1935, Brynäs, Sweden.

Eder has no longer any choice; at the mere age of five he’s the one to protect their small family of three; Eder, Tom and their mom, Benedikte. She has succumbed to the daze of alcohol, using it to shield herself from reality; the men, the violence and her two boys who is slowly fading away while their bellies ache. When the eviction notice slips through the door, Benedikte has fallen far into her own mind and it’s up to Eder to make the first move of getting the family to safety.

In 2024, Eder is an old man reminiscing about his life – Benedikte’s despair, his beloved brother Tom, and their saviour Grandpa; Benedikte’s grandfather, who took them in without question and made them a home in his cabin at Rengsjö. Eder can still to the day remember the warmth of the kitchen, the path down to the lake, and the soft and sugary marble cake. And he will never forget the day the truth about his family history came to light and destroyed everything they had built, shattering the family in its wake.

But most of all, Eder remembers the love; the love he felt from Grandpa; the love he had for Tom; and the frightful, conflicting feelings of a first love in his teens, after everything had fallen apart once more.

Lina Nordquist returns in Solace, a historical novel in three timelines about family, broken trust, and love. It’s a depiction of Sweden on the brink of modernization, and ultimately, about courage and finding comfort in a cabin at the hill of the blue mountains in Hälsingland.

Reviews:

“This is the perfect novel that takes you on a stunning journey through time, exploring a life full of love, sorrow, tough decisions, and shame.” 5/5

BTJ