Kjersti Anfinnsen: Until Absolute Silence
– Norway
Kjersti Anfinnsen (b. 1975) lives in Oslo, works as a dentist, and since last year she has had the EU literature prize, which she won for her latest novel, hanging on the wall. She made her debut eleven years ago with the book Det var grønt (It Was Green). Her next novel, De siste kjærtegn (The last caress), was published in 2019. Her third and last book is called Øyeblikk for evigheten (Moments of Eternity), and is an independent continuation of De siste kjærtegn. The two novels are linked by the main character Birgitte, a retired cardiologist who did not prioritize her family in her active years, and who is so old that all her friends are dead. Her life is trapped in a physical decay that brings her few joys, leaving her to brood over loss, resignation, and aging into absolute silence.