På den anden side er marts

The novel “Hinumegin er mars” by Sólrún Michelsen has just been published in Denmark by Torgard. The novel was first published in 2013 and was the Faroese nominee for the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 2015. The book is a lyrical and poetic portrayal of aging. The narrator is in her early sixties and has realised that the shortest leg of the journey is left. Her mother lives alone but finds it increasingly difficult to manage on her own. Dementia gradually sets in and the mother slowly disappears over the course of the novel until we are told that the person she was is no longer there. The narrator’s memories are intertwined with her mother’s, particularly from childhood. Brief glimpses paint a picture of what life was like when she was a child. The mother is described as a lively modern mother and the novel is an unconditional love letter to her and to life.