Story of a Marriage

Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin

2020 Longlist

In his struggle to understand what has happened to his family, how his wife could fall in love with another man after twenty happy years, Jon attempts to tell the story of the painful collapse of his marriage, but from her point of view. He tries to get inside her head, to see it all as she did, all the while knowing that he can never really achieve this, and that his efforts reveal more projection than insight.

How can one truly know another person? How much of what we think is love is just a construct? Is it possible to find and maintain the great love we long for? Gulliksen explores these questions, turning them over again and again till they crack, revealing hollowness or possible new meanings.

About the Author

Geir Gulliksen is a publisher and highly acclaimed writer of fiction and non-fiction. In 2014 he received the Aschehoug Award for his work, and this novel was nominated for the Nordic Prize. He lives in Norway.

Librarian’s Comments

A short and beautifully written book about the universal pain of failed love. He pretends to be a modern and liberal man, but the freedom he gives his wife is on this terms, not hers. Sølvberget Library & Culture Centre, Norway