Helpful Score: 11
Wonderful, wonderful story about two women, one young and one old, who meet in Sweden. Both deal with terrible tragedies they have not recovered from. Simple things and time together nurse them back to "health."
Helpful Score: 9
Beautifully written, captivating novel about a surprising friendship that develops between 2 women who seem very different on the surface, but are actually quite alike.
Helpful Score: 9
This is a very thought provoking novel. It tells the story of two very different women who have turned their backs on life for different reasons, but somehow they connect and create a beautiful permanent friendship in a very short time. It is heartwrenching, yet heartwarming at the same time. Beautifully written. Totally loved it! I couldn't put it down. I love that this version has an interview with the author, as well as discussion group questions at the back. Great!
Helpful Score: 3
This was a lovely written story of two women who have lead totally different lives and have come together as friends. Beautifully written,this author has a great talent for describing everything that is being seen, heard, tasted and felt. The story itself was a bit on the slow side and it took me awhile to get through it despite the fact that it's only 246 pages, but it was a truly lovely story and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys descriptive, melancholy, and emotional stories.
Helpful Score: 3
This is one of the best "women as friends" books I've read. Don't miss it.
Helpful Score: 2
Although I truly enjoyed the story of Astrid & Veronika's friendship, of their mutual healing of very separate tragedies, I never truly was taken in by the book. I probably could have stopped reading midway through and not felt too bereft of not finishing it. The book is poignant, however, and thought provoking, and well worth the read.
Helpful Score: 1
I absolutely loved this unique book. It captivated me from the beginning. I was so involved in this story that I forgot this was the product of an author. I am passing this book on to my daughters and anyone else that comes to mind!
Helpful Score: 1
A enjoyed this touching story of a very special relationship between a young woman and an old woman.
Helpful Score: 1
I love this book. It is a story of the frienship between an older and younger lady with the Power of love to heal past wounds being the predominant them.
Helpful Score: 1
A delicate story of friendship. How best to describe this book? Set in Sweden, a young woman rents a house to grieve the loss of her fiance. Next door, a woman has been alone for years, perhaps decades, perhaps her entire adult life. How they gently find one another and enter into a strong and loving relationship is beautifully told and moving to read.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a story about friendship between two women, both with painfull pasts. Although I struggled to get through the first half, I started to like it after I finished it. It is a story of pain and hope and of moving foward and living without regret. The scenery is descrptive and beautiful. Would translate to a movie nicely I think.
Helpful Score: 1
This was my first experience with listening to a book instead of reading, and what an introduction it was. I was totally swept away by the story of the friendship between these two women. The writing is lyrical and the descriptions of the landscape are vibrant and beautiful. I usually see the story as a movie playing in my head, but this time it felt like I was there. Ms. Olsson's writing is so vivid that I saw and touched and felt everything, and cried when Astrid and Veronika recounted their stories of love and loss. I found it hard to let go of the characters once I had reached the end of the discs, and have since ordered it in paperback to keep and reread. Very highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 1
On a whim I requested based on its being featured on the PBS home page. Was probably sucked in by the berries on the cover. Sparse, visceral, and intimate.
Very compelling read. Unusual and unexpected, though sad. I enjoyed it, but I like books that are different.
One of the best books I have read and did not want to put down in a long, long time~
This beautifully written novel needs a sequel! I wanted to know where Veronika's journey in life takes her next. It was a sad tale in so many ways but poignant and joyful in so many others.
I really enjoyed this short novel. Wonderful story!
Touching story of friendship between a young woman and an older woman.
I loved this book! At first it started a little slow, but the more I read the better it got. It is the story of friendship between a young woman and an older woman regarded as the town witch. Both are recovering from tragedies, most of the novel centers around their pasts and the secrets they have. After revealing their stories to one another they develop a lasting friendship. This would make a great beach read!
A litle dark and Scandanavian, but a quick and interesting read.
This is one of the sweetest, most tender love stories I have ever read. It is sure to touch your heart.
I enjoyed the story of the developing friendship between Astrid and Veronika . The somewhat stark background creates a vivid picture that made me want to pick up my brushes and paint .
Plodding and a bit disturbing.
Veronika, a young writer, moves to a small village in Sweden to come to terms with the tragic loss of her fiance and complete her novel. Veronika meets Astrid, her elderly and reclusive neighbor, and an unlikely friendship begins. Astrid helps Veronika through her grief and reveals her own secrets to Veronika. This a beautifully written story of the sustaining power of female friendship.
Captivating story of two women who have each experienced tragedy in their lives, who learn to heal through their friendship. Veronika is writing a novel so rents a house in the woods in Sweden. She's young and having a hard time processing her recent loss. Astrid is elderly, lives alone in the house nearby, and has also experience a tragic loss in her life. Author Linda Olsson writes with such descriptive detail that you feel their pain, and their joys in simple encounters like taking a walk in the forrest, or enjoying lunch together. The friendship grows to the point of each woman being able to verbally release the demons of loss, and thus heal. It's a beautifully written novel that will stay with you, reminding you that everyone has a little piece of their heart that hurts.
Book Description
With extraordinary emotional power, Linda Olssons stunningly well-crafted debut novel recounts the unusual and unexpected friendship that develops between two women. Veronika, a young writer from New Zealand, rents a house in a small Swedish village as she tries to come to terms with a recent tragedy while also finishing a novel. Her arrival is silently observed by Astrid, an older, reclusive neighbor who slowly becomes a presence in Veronikas life, offering comfort in the form of companionship and lovingly prepared home-cooked meals. Set against a haunting Swedish landscape, Astrid & Veronika is a lyrical and meditative novel of love and loss, and a story that will remain with readers long after the characters secrets are revealed.
With extraordinary emotional power, Linda Olssons stunningly well-crafted debut novel recounts the unusual and unexpected friendship that develops between two women. Veronika, a young writer from New Zealand, rents a house in a small Swedish village as she tries to come to terms with a recent tragedy while also finishing a novel. Her arrival is silently observed by Astrid, an older, reclusive neighbor who slowly becomes a presence in Veronikas life, offering comfort in the form of companionship and lovingly prepared home-cooked meals. Set against a haunting Swedish landscape, Astrid & Veronika is a lyrical and meditative novel of love and loss, and a story that will remain with readers long after the characters secrets are revealed.
