Why a Booktrail?
1936, 2018: Sometimes life lived on social media is no life at all…
The Christmas Lights
What you need to know before your trail
December 2018, and free-spirited influencers Bo Loxley and her partner Zac are living a life of wanderlust, travelling the globe and sharing their adventures with their millions of fans. Booked to spend Christmas in the Norwegian fjords, they set up home in a remote farm owned by enigmatic mountain guide Anders and his fierce grandmother Signy. Surrounded by snowy peaks and frozen falls, everything should be perfect. But the camera can lie and with every new post, the ‘perfect’ life Zac and Bo are portraying is diverging from the truth. Something Bo can’t explain is wrong at the very heart of their lives and Anders is the only person who’ll listen.
June 1936, and fourteen-year old Signy is sent with her sister and village friends to the summer pastures to work as milkmaids, protecting the herd that will sustain the farm through the long, winter months. But miles from home and away from the safety of their families, threat begins to lurk in friendly faces . . .
The mountains keep secrets – Signy knows this better than anyone – and as Bo’s life begins to spiral she is forced, like the old woman before her, to question who is friend and who is foe.
Travel Guide
The Norwegian Fjords
This could be an advert for the Norwegian fjords! The mountains play a major role and are an important part of the wonderful landscape of this country. It’s no surprise that two youtubers working for a travel channel, Wanderlusters, are travelling around the region, choosing places to stay for maximum “likes”. The Norwegian fjords are their playground, photos are carefully crafted. Sometimes looking into a camera instead of being in the moment can make you not see certain things however….
The majesty of the mountains comes through loud and clear. Many tourists on cruises pass by this area and visitors flock to the Seven Sisters waterfall as well as the villages of Geraginer where Bo and Zack stay and meet Anders.
Lodal Valley
The story of Signy in her rural mountain hideaway takes place in some of the most stunning scenery in the world
There’s lots to love here and the sense of wanderlust is palpable throughout. The sheer size of the mountains and water falls is breathtaking. it’s described as Tolkien country and that’s no surprise.
The author mentions that it was important for her to mention the risk of being in such a mountainous area. Mount Akernes for example and Lodal have fallen in the past. Innocent lives can be lost very quickly so you must respect the area and the land.
Streetview Maps
D) Norway - Gerainger
F) Norway - Hellesylt
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
Did I love this novel or did I love this novel? To spend time in the stunning Norwegian fjords in a story which marvels at and respects the landscape was a treat to behold. The dual timeline takes us back to 1936 when a woman named Signey is working as a milkmaid. Many years later, she has a grandson Anders and they are living in the Norwegian fjords when two travellers come by. Their stories mix and the landscape proves to be both stunning and deadly.
The fact that Bo and Zac are social media stars and that each move is perfectly crafted is very apt for our times. It made me scream at them a bit though when they were at some of the most scenic points in the world – put down your camera and LOOK! – I wanted to say. The thought and time it took them to take a shot, add a filter…sad but true.
When the story got to the heart of their stay in Geiranger and their time with Anders, the story really stepped up and there was an icy suspense right unti the end. These mountains are remote, deadly and you meet and depend on strangers.
I don’t want to give anything away about plot of course but for the sheer exhilarating visit to the Norwegian fjords and story which captures their magic and awe so much, I am offering my Scandi language and travel services to Karen Swan on her next research visit. I read at the end that she bought a coffee table book in Norwegian as she loved the pictures. Now there’s an author who takes research to a whole new level!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Christmas Lights
Destination : Norway, Norwegian fjords, Geirainger, Hellesylt Author/Guide: Karen Swan Departure Time: 2018, 1936
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
