An
elderly married couple have silently agreed on one thing, never to speak of the
past. While he becomes increasingly distant and finally silent, she tries to
cut a path out of the loneliness and silence.
Merethe
Lindstrøm writes about hiding secrets and silence.
The book
is about the love between two people, who, in their lives, have faced
monumental decisions that have steered their existence. And then they realise
some things refuse to remain hidden. Not that the past returns but rather, it
has never disappeared. And now it makes its presence felt in the aging woman’s
conscience like never before.
At one
point, the Lithuanian help says to the woman: “Norwegian homes are clean (...)
just as Norwegians are.” An odd comment, which the woman makes light of in
laughter, but so much is hidden in this one simple sentence.
The aging
woman, who is married to a Jew, ought to have heard what the help really was
saying. Without giving too much away, this Lituanian, Maria, is interested in
the notion of “purity” in more ways than one.