A woman leaves her family in Tromsø for an odyssey along west country roads, and on into neglected farms and the lives of others. Kollbotn writes about everything, including the unmentionables, with insight, honesty and merciless precision.
Eva Ek is a taxi driver. She is on nightshift when we first encounter her, doing her rounds while pondering the awfulness of existence and the world in general. The next day she gets into her car and drives off. She keeps driving through the countryside until she runs over a deer...
She thumbs a lift with Olaf, who is an inspector for an organisation concerned with animal protection. He is acting on an alert about possible problems at a farm. They both arrive there:
“Not a soul alive any more, the farmer whined. Olaf let go of his shirt and put his arm around the man’s shoulders instead. The farmer just about disappeared into Olaf’s armpit. There we are, on the Kvitfoss yard, three human beings standing close together. Above, a flapping flag that should’ve been taken down long ago. I watch the white water of the streams hurtling down the flanks of the mountain.”
