Astrid and Veronika (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Swedish novelist Olsson's somber debut, Veronika Bergman returns to Sweden after a childhood following her diplomat father around the world (her mother abandoned the family), and after publishing her first novel titled Single, One Way, No Luggage. She rents a small house in a rural town to work on her second, but in solitude finds herself seized by feverish dreams and paralyzed by the "stillness" of the landscape and the memories of her recently dead fiancé. Reclusive septuagenarian Astrid Mattson, thought by the village to be a witch, takes an interest in Veronika, and the two strike up a friendship based on loss. Against the backdrop of the changing seasons and their small, plangent houses, the two women slowly tell each other their most closely guarded secrets (which concern their mothers and lovers), and venture, tentatively, out of the safety of their routines. Olsson has a clear feel for the emotional wellsprings of both characters, but can't convert her terse lyricism into a fully realized story. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Veronika, a 30-year-old Swedish writer, rents a home in a remote village to finish work on her second novel. Her only neighbor for miles is Astrid, a reclusive octogenarian who has earned a reputation (perhaps undeserved) as the village witch. Veronika and Astrid gradually become friends, taking long walks and sipping wine made from the wild strawberries in Astrid's garden. Each shares painful secrets along the way. Veronika abandoned a devoted boyfriend to take up with a bartender from New Zealand. They fell passionately in love, then tragedy befell him, leaving Veronika incapacitated by grief. Astrid endured sexual abuse from her father and a long loveless marriage to a man chosen by him. Until now, she has never told anyone the truth about her infant daughter's death. This is the first novel for Olsson, a native of Stockholm who now lives in New Zealand. Though the pace of her narrative lags at times, readers of Anne Tyler and Jodi Picoult will appreciate the lyrical prose and expert rendering of the themes of heartbreak and loss. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 259 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143038079
• ISBN-13: 978-0143038078
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,964 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #32 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Australia & New Zealand
  #50 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Friendship

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good things.., May 8, 2007

By	M. Nichols (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Astrid and Veronika meet as neighbors in a small Swedish village. Astrid is a hermit (the "town witch") and Veronika is a writer attempting to finish a novel. As their friendship deepens, the women find that they are each others' inspirations. Both are recovering from tragedies that have touched their lives, and the guilt that accompanies them. Much of the novel involves flashbacks as one character tells the other her secrets.

The book has its charms -- the prose is often lyrical, it moves quickly, and there is some nice location detail in Sweden, Japan, and New Zealand. Unfortunately, though, the plot is fairly obvious and the characterization is flat. At one point Astrid says to Veronika: "You pulled me out into the bright light again, opened my eyes. Made the ice thaw." The author doesn't do enough to plumb the relationship between these two. Most of these declarations don't feel earned. Astrid's character is similarly hard to understand. There is a lot of feminist subtext to her life, but a lot of it doesn't make complete sense.

In addition, the language veers into odd cliches. At one point, Astrid says: "My grandfather looked at me and it was as if we were the only two people in the whole world." Moments like that (there are several) drag the otherwise smooth narrative into soap opera territory.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating story, September 13, 2007

By	Constant Reader (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This is a remarkable story of two women who meet under ordinary but perhaps unexpected circumstances. Astrid is practically a recluse who has lived almost her entire life under one roof. Veronika has traveled the world but at the time of their meeting she has retreated from her previous life and rented a secluded home in the countryside of Sweden that is within the view from Astrid's window. The two women have not led similar lives, they are not from similar backgrounds nor are they close in age. Each of them has separate reasons for distancing themselves from people and the world surrounding them. The contact between them begins reluctantly and continues very tentatively. With a very delicate touch and a precise focus, Olsson gradually removes veils of grief and allows the reader to watch a friendship grow between Astrid and Veronika as they share a brief time in the present and gradually share their pasts with each other. This is a very small story, set in a very small time and space, but it is totally captivating. While it is possible to read this novel as a story of one friendship, it also is a story of the power of human interaction to transform lives. Astrid and Veronika spend a relatively short time together, but as they find common ground they rediscover their essential humanity that enables each of them to better connect with their pasts and the world around them. Whether you view the essential common denominator as pain, as endurance or as love may be related to your personal view of the world. The novel is well written with an excellent sense of both characters and setting.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tempted by wild strawberries., June 18, 2007

By	G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I was hoping to be as captivated by Linda Olsson's story as I was by her novel's cover photograph. Olsson is a recent creative writing graduate from the University of Auckland. Astrid and Veronika was previously published in New Zealand as "Let me sing you gentle songs" (2005). Set in the frozen landscape of Olsson's homeland, Sweden, it tells the story of two women, Veronika Bergman, a 31-year-old novelist, and her elderly, reclusive neighbor, Astrid Mattson (who is called a witch by the local villagers). The two flatly-drawn characters cultivate a friendship based almost entirely on their own personal losses. Veronika, we learn, has suffered the recent loss of the love of her life, James. Astrid has suffered her father's sexual abuse, then endured a loveless marriage along with the death of her infant daughter. Through their rather implausible relationship, Astrid and Veronika eventually find closure from their painful, secret histories. Friendships have the power to transform us. While Olsson's writing is often elegant, it doesn't deliver the cover's temptation of fresh, wild strawberries. Her narrative is slow and predictable, and her characters' stories never quite seem to draw readers into their heartbreak.

G. Merritt