Child Wonder [ペーパーバック]

Navigating that shaky bridge between childhood and adulthood is never easy, particularly in 1961 - a time when "men became boys and housewives women," a year when Yuri Gargarin is poised to conquer space and when the world is on the cusp of change.

Into this moment of time, Norwegian author Roy Jacobsen shines a laser light on young Finn and his mother Gerd, who live in the projects of Oslo. Fate has not been kind to them: Gerd's husband, a crane operator, divorced her and then died in an accident, leaving the family in a financially precarious position. To make ends meet, she works in a shoe store and runs an ad for a lodger for extra money.

To complicate the situation, Finn's father's second wife - a now-widowed drug addict - views the ad and unloads on the family Finn's half-sister, Linda - a young girl who appears to have mysterious problems that are only gradually revealed. Figuratively, this "poor mite got off the Grorud bus one dark November day with an atomic bomb in a small light blue suitcase and turned our lives upside down."

Linda becomes the mirror in which Gerd, Finn, and others (including the lodger Kristian) eventually define themselves. Gerd, who identifies strongly with Linda, is transported back to an abusive childhood and views herself in the little girl. Finn battles jealousy, bewilderment, and eventually, stirrings of love as he defends Linda from the Norwegian educational system and the school bullies. He reminisces: "Linda was not of this world, one day I would come to understand this - she was a Martian come down to earth to speak in tongues to heathens, to speak French to Norwegians and Russian to Americans. She was destiny, beauty and a catastrophe. A bit of everything. Mother's mirror and Mother's childhood. All over again."

Not unlike his regional compatriot, Per Petterson, Roy Jacobsen is (as one publication stated about the latter), "a master at writing the spaces between people." He succinctly and beautifully captures the incomprehension of a young boy who is trying to make sense of the adult world and his place within it. The increasing bond between the boy and his accidental sister is explored painstakingly and is exquisitely poignant. The portrayal of Linda's evolution to her new family is genuinely heartrendering.

A pedestrian if not downright awkward translation does not serve the stream of consciousness sections well. In the best translations (such as the talented Ann Born's translation of Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses), the reader loses sight that the book is a translation. It takes a little while to get into the cadence and the rhythm.

But the authenticity of Roy Jacobsen's vision wins out with its universal themes: how others become gifts in our lives, unveiling us, and the lengths we go to preserve relationships with those we love. Or, in the words of the author, Something happens to you when someone spots you - you see yourself from the outside, your own peculiar strangeness, that which is only you and moves in only you, but which nonetheless you have not known..." This quiet book is a hopeful testimony to transformative change.

Jacobsen pens a tale of transition set in Oslo, Norway in the 60s, a decade of turmoil and societal change that leaves its mark on those buffeted by a government and a lifestyle in flux. Little Finn has enjoyed a predictable, if quite penurious life with his mother, Gerd, in a small flat. But times are difficult for the young widow, who undertakes a slight renovation in hopes of taking in a lodger. Eventually a suitable man is found, one who brings along a coveted television, through Finn remains suspicious of the worldly, well-traveled man of few words. More changes are on the horizon- particularly the arrival of Finn's six-year-old half-sister, Linda, a small, quiet child who unexpectedly takes root in his heart at the same time that Finn's relationship with his mother seems to disintegrate.

A subtle, powerful novel unfolds as the household accommodates both lodger and half-sister, a sweet child whose presence forces Finn's mother to share long-held secrets in a an explosive drama that reveals buried family skeletons, years of shame and denial. Finn's journey is profound, the bridge from happy child to more cautious, less gullible adolescent fraught with landmines that blow his every assumption to unrecognizable bits. The price of admission into the adult world is costly, if necessary, requiring a reassessment of all he has believed. Full of insight, outrage and the sheer weight of emotional awakening, this novel is deeply moving, a rare and contemplative story of decisions, choices and the gift and burden of love. Luan Gaines/2011.

You don't have to be familiar with Norway or have grown up in the 1960s to like this book. It's truly one of those universal tales that everyone can relate to in some way, shape or form. The best thing about this book is the characters-Finn, Gerd and Linda seem like the sort of people one would actually know and/or can relate to.

Without giving too much away, much of the novel centers around Gerd's decision to take in Linda, her stepdaughter and Finn's half-sister whom he previously had no knowledge of. Secrets are revealed, but probably not the sort of overly dramatic bombshells that one would typically find in most American novels.

The characters stayed with me long after I finished the novel. I also recommended and gave copies of this to several friends. This may not be typical summer beach reading, but do consider it if you are looking for a good novel to take on vacation.