In Birgitte Solheim’s experience, love becomes no less demanding even once she reaches ninety. Her life with and feelings for her partner Javiér are just as vivid, even if she is trapped and isolated by physical decline. Her world is limited to the four walls of her home and her daily walk, with little joys and a lot of darkness. Birgitte uncompromisingly reflects on life’s worst moments and what remains with her of loss, grief and bereavement in a world that seems more and more alien to her.
Moments for Eternity is a life-affirming novel about love, death and the loneliness of life, and is the second and final book about retired heart surgeon Birgitte Solheim.
Foreign Sales:
Denmark, Vild Maskine
Bulgaria, Izida
Poland, Art Rage
Serbia, Treci Trg
Iceland, Harpa
The Netherlands, Ambo | Anthos Uitgevers / Loft
France, Editions Mercure de France
Czech Republic, Vetrne mlyny
Sverige, Flo
France, Editions Mercure de France
Praise
"This is a very good, wise book, and it’s not just its inevitability that makes it so gripping. It’s the intense empathy, above all within Birgitte, but also the fact that what is most difficult is presented in such exquisite and simple language. They reveal a deep understanding for the sense of resignation and loss when her beloved passes away. [...] Human aging towards total silence is beautifully conveyed in just 109 slender pages, each containing much space for contemplation. The nuances are taken care of, right down to the final full-stop. This is a text you let sink in, not one to talk to death about."
Klassekampen
"Anfinnsen offers up […] a composition that refuses to over-explain and fill in all the gaps, but rather lets the reader enter and draw their own frames of reference. It creates a vivid experience for the reader. […] This short novel [is] richer and more versatile than many other weightier volumes."
Dag og Tid
"This is simply wonderful."
Beathe Solberg, Beathes bibliotek
"Old age seen through the eyes of former surgeon Birgitte. Reflective, brave and plaintive on ailing health, aging love and the inevitable end.
Janneken Øverland, Klassekampen – The best books of the year
"This is a short novel, with short chapters and apt chapter titles. Ought to be read slowly, to enjoy the language. Moments for Eternity is a warm, tender, sad, somewhat witty, charming and very well written novel, highly recommended."
Artemisias verden
"I have just read Moments for Eternity, a bitter and painful, but wonderful novel about a couple marked by aging, decline and death – yes, wonderful! Author Kjersti Anfinnsen, 46 years young, extends a hand to the elderly and humanises our experiences. In doing so, she creates an emotional and mental bond between the generations. She alludes to something I long for – for old age to be normalized, for the stages of life to be recognized."
Sissel Gran, on aging in Morgenbladet
