Storytellers by Bjørn Larssen surprised me from many points of view. It is like a story wrote by someone who loves storytelling to people who wants to read stories well told.
Set in the 1920 in Iceland, it is built around the encouter between Gunnar, a hermit blacksmith, who is spontaneously visited by Sigurd, recently returned from the US. Two perfect strangers? Are there actually things that may connect the two? Is anything they have in common?
Although placed one century ago, this is not a historical novel and the social and historical context of the time is largely irrelevant. What is important is the knitting thread of the story, which builds up mostly through the dialogue between the characters. This is the main way in which we are brought closer to their story.
Gunnar, with his clumsy way to react and especially his lack of emotional reaction. For the reader, it is interesting to follow him along the story and the author rewards our patience. We are slowly introduced in the intimacy of secrets leading to an unclear ending. The story rewrites itself several times, listening to its own creative laws.
I personally liked the way the story ends, leaving us to guess beyond the story, involving our imagination as readers. The nature descriptions and their smart integration into the narrative are equally pleasant without any trace of stereotypes about Northern lights and touristic-like images usually associated with Iceland. They are alive, as alive as the characters of the story are made for us.
I am glad I was curious enough to give a chance to the Storytellers. Discovering new authors is such a refreshing brain exercise. It helps us to refuse stereotypes and being caught into the paradigm of success. A good author is someone who simply writes good stories and it is our luck when we discover them.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual my own
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