The Ferryman and His Wife

by Frode Grytten

On 18 November, ferryman Nils Vik heads out onto the fjord, as he has each day for many years. But, today, his trip is different. As his trusty boat reaches the sea, a lifetime of passengers join him from beyond the grave. Stories emerge from the woodwork and Nils is reminded of the moments in which the course of his boat - and his life - was irreversibly changed.

But Nils is waiting for just one passenger: his beloved wife, Marta, whose absence has marked each day since her passing. Approaching the end of his journey, his expectation grows - will he be reunited with her too?

At once uplifting and heartbreaking, The Ferryman and his Wife is a contemplative celebration of life from one of Norway's most prominent writers.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Book Club

166 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2023

About the author

Frode Grytten (born December 11, 1960 in Odda) is a Norwegian writer and journalist. He is the author of the Brage award-winning novel Bikubesong ('Song of the Beehive'), and other collections of short stories and poetry. His works have been translated into Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Albanian, Croatian and Chinese.

Grytten is a native of the industrial town Odda, which often features in his work.

As a journalist he has mainly worked for Bergens Tidende, the local newspaper of Bergen, Norway. He is also writing for the Oslo-based national newspaper Dagbladet.

Reviews

[Canadian Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An elderly man, Nils Vik, wakes up and knows today is the last day of his life. He prepares himself briefly before he leaves to make his final run as a ferryman.
Today will be different from his other journeys. Today he will visit with the people from his past who took his ferry along the fjord. His dog, Luna, is his first passenger who will accompany him as he revisits both the good and bad passengers until his late wife joins him on this final voyage.

This was a profoundly moving story of a simple life brimming with memories of a full life led. A life, told in reverse, waiting to be reunited with his loved one.
The writing beautiful.

Bravo Grytten. Bravo.
5⭐️
Shoutout to TGH for sharing her copy with me!

[Wendy Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful, and what makes it so beautiful is its simplicity. There is no racy, twisty plot. The protagonist, a ferryman in the Norwegian fjords, wakes up and instantly knows this is the last day of his life. His day was identical to every other day. With his loyal companion, faithful dog, Lunar, he ferries his boat across the fjord, taking on passengers as he goes. This last journey proves to be reflective. He thankfully thinks about his life with his late wife, Marta, occasionally, subtly straying into political and social issues. He chronicles the lives of their two daughters who both left this picturesque place for the city. Consulting his logbook, he recounted past trips and events. As the tale’s reflective nature requires, this gentle story unfolds slowly. The characters are relatable. The prose is splendid, almost haunting. This highly original book is stunning. I highly recommend it.

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What do you remember best Nils? she asks. I don't know. So much is lost to him, so much is gone, an absence that will soon encompass everything"

"This life is like an item of clothing, the beauty exists on the outside but the warmth is found within."

This is the last day of Nils Vik's life- a ferryman all his life taking people across a fjord from countryside to city and vice versa; encountering people from all backgrounds and experiences. Today he will die. He has chosen to make one final journey and as he does so he finds he is accompanied by visitors; friends and acquaintances who have died and reunite with him on this final journey. Memories- fellow travellers

Nils reflects upon his life, loves and experiences and the visitors remind him of events- big and small. This is a man who brought connections and changes to people's lives : visiting family; leaving for new lives; returning to loved ones and through simple acts of kindness shown care ( that underrated word)

Nils has one hope on this final trip - to be reunited with his wife, Marta.

This could seem like a melancholy or even depressing read but it isn't. This is about celebrating and taking stock of a life lived- yes, the highs and lows but the pivotal moments and the small pleasures and actions.

What makes this book even more special is that Nils is a gentle soul- not a go-getting, life-grabbing , material-accumulating man- this is a story that is a tribute to those who are humble- often forgotten ; even invisible.

If you enjoyed The Cranes Fly South or the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series then this will certainly appeal but if you want a simply sublime beautiful read about existing, being and the power of simply living with a kind heart then you will love this.

Very moving- not sentimental - and certainly makes you reflect upon family and friends past and present and the value of living in the moment.

Highly Recommended

Quotes;

People along the fjord have always viewed kindness as a from of weakness, but he showed that kindness is the opposite of weakness.

He loved his wife. I always said they lived like two clapping hands, she was the left hand, he the right..

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful translated novel from a Norwegian author.

Nils Vik takes his last trip on his ferryboat on the fjord.. on the last day of his life, and on this voyage he is met by his deceased dog Luna ..as well as the ghosts of family, friends, and acquaintances he met while ferrying them to and from his village.
Of course he most wants to be joined by Marta, his beloved wife he lost from a stroke some time earlier..
We get a glimpse of Nils entire life during the trip

Absolutely gorgeous prose!
This story will stay with me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[John Hatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. Nils Vik, a simple man with a simple job: to ferry people back and forth across the fjord where he was born and lived his whole life. The day Nils Vik died, he remembered all of the people he had ferried across that fjord, he remembered the faithful dog that accompanied him on his crossings, he remembered most of all the woman he loved all of his adult life, with whom he would be reunited.
To be born was to live long enough to discover what air and sea and earth and hate and love are, then to say thank you and goodbye.

[Srivalli Rekha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

One Liner: Beautiful!

Nils Vik wakes up on November 18th knowing he will die that day. He follows his morning routine with voices from the past in his head and steps onto his beloved boat. Soon, his dog that died years ago and other dead, those he ferried across the fjord, begin to appear. Nils Vik waits for his wonderful, dead wife, Martha, to join him in this final journey.

The story comes in Nils Vik’s third-person POV.

My Thoughts:

Written in Norwegian, the book won the prestigious Brage Prize and was translated into English. It’s a short one, 176 pages or so, and has a melancholic, introspective, and sober mood.

Though there are a few dialogues, they are written as regular sentences without any quotation marks. Took me a bit of time to get used to this, but I could see it worked for the narrative style and kept the flow seamless.

Despite the heaviness in the theme, the book is not always sad, and it definitely is not bitter. It is meditative even when offering a glimpse into the hardships of life. It takes us through decades of the MC’s life at random, but in a way that makes sense to him. This means that there’s no proper plot or structure. You just have to go where it takes you.

The MC’s characterization is beautiful and strong; no wonder he carries the book on his shoulders. Of course, he is far from perfect, and that’s what makes him human.

Though the writing is impactful, it is not overly sentimental. In fact, it’s the last thing from being dramatic. It is calm and steady, no matter what the topic is. And that makes it even more effective (there are a couple of triggers, though).

And the way the MC feels about his place, his roots, his identity, his life, and the surrounding nature is so wonderfully presented. The ending is just perfect!

To summarize, The Ferryman and His Wife is a poignant, meditative, and thoughtful novel about what it means to be a ferryman in a little village nestled in the mountains of Norway.

Though I know nothing about the original language, I enjoyed reading this in English, so I’d say the translation is just as great.

Thank you, NetGalley and Algonquin Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

#NetGalley #TheFerrymanAndHisWife

[Ayo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten
🌟🌟

Meditative, Experimental, Fragmented, Overstuffed, Morbid

“Only mediocre people are happy”

In The Ferryman and His Wife, we meet Nils Vik on his final day on earth. As he makes one last crossing of a fjord, his deceased dog jumps aboard and begins to speak. The dog is the first of the dead. As the journey continues, more people from Nils’s life join him on the ferry. They converse, and through these conversations the novel unfolds in short vignettes and flashbacks.

On paper, this is an interesting framework to narrate a meditation on death, memory, and the act of taking stock of a life. I thought this was a brilliant choice. In practice, however, the execution falters.

Despite its modest length (176 pages), the book introduces an overwhelming number of characters - more than some 1,300-page novels. Many feel underdeveloped, as if they were sketched and then abandoned. At times it felt as though context or nuance may have been lost in translation, particularly around the significance of certain characters and plot choices. Much of the book reads like a writing experiment or improvisation: interesting in intent, but uneven and unfinished in effect.

There are moments that work. I liked several of the detours -Luna the dog’s survival of a dog massacre and Nils’s rescue of her; the vignette involving Nils’s brother, the one with Miss Norway; and the flashbacks involving Nils’s daughter and her partner. These passages hint at the emotional depth the novel could have reached with more focus.

The original Norwegian title, Den dagen Nils Vik døde (The Day Nils Vik Died, 2023), makes more sense than the English one. Despite The Ferryman and His Wife as the title, Martha-Nils’s wife remains largely peripheral to the story.

In trying to be experimental and enigmatic, the novel often comes across as scattered, random, and at times cringeworthy. The tone shifts abruptly: moments meant to be meditative are undercut by jarring sexual scenes and references that feel out of place and disrupt the atmosphere rather than deepen it.

The book ultimately reminded me of Gerard Way’s line: “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”
With greater restraint, clearer focus, and more disciplined execution, this story might have lived up to that idea. As it stands, it feels like a draft of something more meaningful rather than a fully realized work.

On further thought I think this is raw material for a horror/thriller on screen. I’m hoping it is optioned. But for a book? I didn’t care for it.

Favorite Quotes:

“A member of the crew wondered if he believed places have feelings.’they do. Absolutely. Places and landscapes have genders too. This one is clearly a man’”

“The thing about rich people is that they think they can buy anything and everything including their own fate, including their very exit from this life.”

“The same day never comes twice”

“Only mediocre people are happy”

“Love requires you get out and do something “

“The journey is an hallucination.”

“Nothing never exists. There must be something.”

“It’s hard work being dead.”

“Her body had been invaded by foreign objects”

“There was no way he would have to spend Christmas alone. Many women like men like him. Someone who never gave you what you wanted. Someone who’d leave you at the drop of a hat. The certainty that he’d walk out one day would fool many a woman that he was the only man for them.“

“What’s the best way to die? No one can know. It’s impossible to know.”

[Geir Tangen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein gong i året har eg lova kona mi å lese ein skjønnlitterær roman som ikkje er krim. I år fall valet på denne godsaken, rett og slett fordi eg skal bokbade forfattaren på SILK.

Det er ingen murstein dette med sine hundre - og noko sider, men den inneheld eit heilt liv. I små glimt og episodar, finurlege anekdotar, tankesprang, og i brotstykke av dagligdagse samtalar, teiknar forfattaren Nils Vik. Heile mennesket frå ei prøvande skisse i starten, til kvar einaste rynke og kvar lille åreknute kjem til overflata. Grytten markerer strekane med stø hand, medan skuggane vært gnidd langs arket og dreg ut dei skarpaste konturane. Me ser sår og skorper, men og smilerynker og glimtet i augo.

Det er noko nakent i det å teikna eit menneske så fullendt. Det gjev ikkje rom for å tolka eller undrast kva det er for ein karakter me har med å gjere. Det er slik han er. Det er slik han alltid har vore. Traust. Roleg. Inneslutta og landfast. Han er som landskapet han er vaksen opp i langs fjorden på Vestlandet. Nesten uforanderlig gjennom alle åra som driv forbi.

Dette er altså historia om den siste dagen i Nils Vik sitt liv. Skyssmann over fjorden i alle sine år. Einsleg enkemann med to vaksne døtre, men ingen barnebarn. Han bur i det same huset han sjølv vart fødd i for over 70 år sidan, lengst inne i ein fjordarm der ingen skulle tru at nokon holdt til. Han har bestemt seg for å døy denne dagen, og gjer alt han skal for å vera førebudd. Me anar ein sjukdom i underteksten, men får aldri vite meir enn det. Han hoppar i skyssbåten og legg ut på fjorden på si siste reise. På vegen møter han alle dei som har gått bort, og som han ein gong kjente, og det er i desse samtalane og i desse minnene me lærer Nils Vik å kjenna.

Boka er ei melankolsk og sår reise gjennom eit brokete vestlandslandskap og eit levd liv som mange nok ville ha kalla keisamt og fattesleg, men samstundes er det så nært, så trygt og godt, at det spelar på alle dei kjenslevare strengene i oss. Nils Vik var rett og slett eit heiderleg, heilstøpt og skikkeleg menneske som har levd det han opplever som eit rikt liv. Dette meisterstykke av ein roman er etter mi meining så nær poesi som ein kan koma innen denne sjangeren.

[Jodi (on semi-hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely story.🧡💚🤎

Nils Vik has been a ferryman all his adult life, plying the waters of Norway’s fjords. He ferries people across the water—to appointments, to church, to school, to work, and sometimes even to their wedding. He picks them up and safely returns them home, before docking the boat and walking up the hill to home. He’s been alone a long time now. His daughters have their own lives with husbands, but no children. No one to carry on the family name.

This day, Nils Vik is certain it will be his last, so he ties up a few loose ends before starting down to the water. He puts his wife’s jewellery into an envelope and writes a note for one of his daughters to find. Then he drags his mattress outside and sets it alight before locking up and walking to work. When he sets out, it’s barely dawn on a beautiful, clear morning.

On this last day, he sets off down the fjord, knowing there will be many of his old passengers—all long dead—waiting on the dock to join him for this last voyage. The first to board is Luna—his loyal old dog. She has lots to say and some questions too: "How long did I live?" "How did I die?" "Did you get another dog?" They continue on, and for each one who boards, Nils recalls what he wrote in his daily log, and tells a story of that long ago day. And, in this way, he builds the blocks that formed his life.

Once on-board, they enter the boat’s cabin to join the others. As the day wears on, it’s getting pretty crowded! It’s dark now and it’s been a very long day. But Nils Vik notices that time is now moving backwards. He understands his final day will soon end, but there’s still one passenger he hopes to see. Ah, there it is! He can hear her voice approaching from behind. She hugs him, turns him around and takes his face in her hands. Of course, it’s his Marta, the wife he's loved forever.

Over the fjord he went, out towards the open sea, out where there are no more places to hide, where one’s legs can no longer carry one, where the boat’s heart no longer beats below. Over the fjord he went, he moved towards the light, towards the light in the darkness, the light over the mountains and over the way, over the rain and the clouds and the houses and the horizon. The beginning must have looked like this, a darkness and a light, the darkness with this light in it, like when a boat crosses the black fjord with a lit lantern at the prow. In the beginning he had been a single step from life; now he was a single step from death. Nils Vik closed his eyes, and the last day of his life was over.

5 “Those–we–love–don’t–go–away,–they–walk–beside–us–every–day” stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Jola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had I not read Morning and Evening (2000) by Jon Fosse just a few months ago, my reaction to The Ferryman and His Wife (2023) by Frode Grytten would have been different—more enthusiastic, for sure. I absolutely loved Fosse’s novel and admired its oddness, its stylistic innovativeness, and its noble simplicity. It quietly tore my heart into confetti.

Both books share a remarkably similar premise: we accompany a man on the last day of his life (and in Fosse’s novel, on his first day as well). Given how brilliant Morning and Evening is, tackling a similar idea 23 years later felt like a risky enterprise. Comparisons were inevitable, and in my case, they definitely favoured Fosse. I don't know if Frode Grytten had read Fosse's work, but the parallels felt a bit too intrusive for my liking.

That said, I found The Ferryman and His Wife engaging, and the author certainly succeeded in making me care for Nils Vik. I can fully relate to some reviewers who confessed that this novel moved them to tears. But to be honest, despite its emotional impact and harsh tenderness, I didn’t find anything particularly fresh, groundbreaking, or surprising here. I don't like it when an author is pulling at my heartstrings so overtly, clearly trying to engineer my emotions. I much prefer when it's done with a lighter, subtler touch. Unfortunately, those efforts weren't entirely seamless in The Ferryman and His Wife.

[Sarah ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ferryman and His Wife - Frode Grytten





"عند الساعة الخامسة والربع فجرًا، فتح نيلز فيك عينيه، وبدأَ اليوم الأخير من حياته."
...
تدور أحداث النوفيلا في اليوم الأخير من حياة نيلز فيك وهو رجل عمل طوال كمراكبي أو ملاح ينقل الركاب ذهابًا وإيابًا عبر المضيق البحري، في يومه الأخير هذا يتذكر نيلز كل من قابلهم طوال حياته، الركاب وأصدقاء العمر وكلبه وأهمهم المرأة التي أحبها طوال حياته زوجته التي رحلت قبله والتي يأمل أن يلقاها قريبًا


"كل شيء كان يشيخ، كل شيء كان في انحدار، كل شيء كان يتداعى. لكن كوخ مركبه ظلّ واقفًا."
...

نوفيلا مدهشة وجميلة... من تلك التي لا تنسى، أنهيت قراءتها قبل عدّة أيام ولازلت أفكر بها طوال الوقت.
نوفيلا دافئة ومكتوبة بلغة شاعرية وسرد مدهش ومحبب ودافىء ..

تذكرني بأسلوب يون فوسه، خاصة في روايتي؛ صباح ومساء و|Aliss at the Fire, في صباح ومساء تأمل في حياة رجل وتفاصيلها بين يوم ولادته ويوم وفاته، وفي الرواية الثانية|Aliss at the Fire حيث تقف سيدة أمام النافذة المطلة على المضيق حيث رأت زوجها لآخر مرة قبل اختفائه مع قاربه قبل ربع قرن وتتذكر حياتهما معا ..




"لعل البداية كانت هكذا: عتمة وبصيص نور، تَحمل العتمة ذلك البصيص في داخلها، مثل قاربٍ يعبر المضيق المظلم وفي مقدّمته مصباح مضاء. في البدء، كانت تفصله خطوة واحدة عن الحياة؛ والآن كان على بعد خطوة واحدة من الموت. أغمض نيلز فيك عينيه، وانقضى يومه الأخير."
...
الأكيد أنّ النرويجيين-والاسكندنافيين عمومًا يكتبون بشاعرية روايات قصيرة مذهلة ومكثفة الأحداث..
هذه أفضل بداية لكتب العام الجديد..
أرجو ان تترجم للعربية..


فجر الجمعة؛ العشرين من رجب - 1447 هـ

[Karen.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A beautiful story depicting the transition of a Ferryman’s life.

[Tracy Greer-Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 ⭐️

At 166 pages, this short novella of a book, packs a punch.

A ferryman is someone who operates a ferry. It is a job that is more of a calling than career. They take people and passengers to places they need to be. - To a loved one, to a hospital and to home.

Nils Vik is a ferryman who wakes up knowing this will be the last day of his life. He recalls many passengers and friends whom he has ferried over his career, as he has meticulously kept a log. On his final voyage, the deceased jump on board with him.

A highlight reel of his life is within this story, his beloved wife Marta, a marriage that suffered many ups and downs and were told with total honesty. The daughters that are living their own lives and his faithful, deceased dog Luna. I loved Luna! 🐶

The writing was absolutely gorgeous and provoking. It also reminds us that people remember us for our kindnesses long after we are gone.

As Nils puts it, he’s lived “long enough to discover what air and sea and earth and hate and love are, and then say thank you and farewell.”

Highly recommend.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. It is a story of Nils Vic. A ferryman who transported people on the fjord with his boat. He reflects on all the passengers he has brought back and forth, good and bad on the final day of his life. We meet his beautiful dog Luna, as he makes his journey of reflection. We also meet his loving wife Marta, who he misses dearly
The image and the beauty of this beautiful place is absolutely astounding.
His logbook is his tool for all the trips that he had made in his lifetime. His notes of the people and the reason for their passage.
This is a short book, but a powerful story with beautiful prose.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s something special about Nils Vik. A simple man; observant, happy to have lived a fulfilling life with the love of his life, Marta. She has passed and the beloved house is is going to be passed on to his children. Before he leaves, he brings the mattress to the yard and sets it on fire. So many memories. Now he will go out on his own terms for a last ride in his ferry boat down the fjord. On this journey he reflects on the memories of some of his passengers with his faithful dog Luna by his side. Luna along with the stories of his passengers, takes on an ethereal feeling as he is comforted by his memories. He will be reunited with the love of his life, the one that completes him.

This is a little gem. It’s quietly reflective about a life lived. The prose is beautiful and the translation perfect. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for an early copy.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

"At a quarter past five in the morning Nils Vic opened his eyes, and the last day of his life began."

Nils steps on to his ferry and travels back through his life, and considers what it means through the eyes of those he knew. The dead travel with him because he meant something to them, and they honor the simple man he was, and the friendship and help he gave.
It's the story of a life lived in one place, doing what he loved, the wife and daughters he cherished, and the ones he saved without ever knowing he did so.

"To be born---that is, to live long enough to discover what air and sea and earth and hate and love are, and then say thank you and farewell."

May we all be so lucky.

This is a beautiful book. Thanks to Wyndy for leading me to this one with her review.

[Louis Muñoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, happily rounding up to five. This is one of those books that have very little plot except that it's the last day of the eponymous ferryman, Nils Vik, as he picks up people (AND his beloved dog, Luna) along the way to the sea, all of whom have previously passed away, some recently, some many years since. Along the way, we learn about Nils' life, yes, but about life itself, the people we meet, how we interact with them, and what we learn from them and from life more generally. The above is a very inadequate summary, but if you decide to read this book, you will be glad, I truly believe.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars "In the spirit of Amor Towles and George Saunders, the renowned, bestselling Norwegian author Frode Grytten takes listeners on a quietly epic ferry driver Nils Vik’s last route along the fjord, on what he knows will be his last day alive."

Niks Vik wakes up on November 18th and knows it will be his last day on Earth. He is joined by his dog Luna who passed away years before. As he travels across the fjord with passengers, he is contemplative and introspective. We learn about his life, of his wife who passed away, and his daughters. We learn about the passengers he served over the years and the impact he made in the small things. His logbook with notes about passengers and the weather are very insightful and teach us more about him.

This literary fiction novel is beautifully written with gorgeous, soul-searching prose. Ot is atmospheric and creates the most stunning images. The pace is slow but I could not stop reading it as it feels magical, like a Norwegian fable. Frode Grytten's insights on the life and death of ordinary people leaving an extraordinary impact behind is beautiful and inspiring. It is a quick read with outstanding character development as well. I highly recommend adding this to your TBR.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Algonquin Books, and Frode Grytten for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every life is singular, and Frode Grytten's story of the life of ferryman Nils Vik has no comparisons. It's perfectly itself.

[Rosh (on a medical break) · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: A literary fantasy-fiction set on a fjord in Norway. Introspective, not morbid. Too many characters, too meandering and monotonous for my liking. Some unnecessary triggering and crass content. Better for those who are more about prose than plot. Recommended, but not to all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plot Preview:

One morning, Nils Vik, a ferryman, wakes up and knows that it will be the day he dies. He still wants to follow his routine, so after his morning routine, he looks around his empty house for one last time, walks out, and boards his beloved boat that he has been ferrying on the fjord for many years. As he sets off, his dead dog joins him, and one by one, several other souls also make their way to Nils Vik one by one across each of the ferry stops. Each, including the dog, discusses several things from the past, sometimes offering the ferryman a new perspective on the matter. But Nils Vik is actually waiting only for one person to join his final journey: his late wife Marta.
The story comes to us in the ferryman’s third-person perspective.

This book was originally written in Norwegian in 2023 and won the Brage Prize, the most prestigious of the Norwegian Literature Prizes. This English translation was published in November 2025.

This book is like a twisty extended take on the belief that we see our life flashing before our eyes at the time of our death. Nils is going through the same, traversing a lifetime of memories during his final journey on his ferry on the day of his death.

Nils Vik’s story reminded me of Charon, the ferryman from the Greek underworld. Nils also ends up carrying a boat full of souls, except that it is he who is being led towards his final destination, unlike Charon who is just the guide for others.


Bookish Yays:
⛵ The intriguing start, wherein Nils Vik knows that he will die that day and takes care of certain things before leaving his house. Strikingly written.

⛵ The description of the fjords and of the value of a ferry for the remote islands. Just beautiful!

⛵ The “epilogue”, revealing details of Nils Vik as a person through quotes by his passengers. An interesting way to commemorate the character whose last day we just read.


Bookish Okays:
⛰ The various passengers interacting with Nils Vik, either in the present as souls or in his memories of the past. Some are really interesting, some are just token additions. Most character development is superficial, but it’s interesting that Nils also recollects the passengers who weren’t good people. It might have been better to limit the number of characters to the significant ones who impacted Nils Vik’s life. Of the passengers, Marta is the most intriguing but Luna the dog is the overall best character. I like that she gets a voice to speak to Nils Vik on this final journey.


Bookish Nays:
🚣🏻‍♀️ The title and the cover. The original Norwegian title “Den dagen Nils Vik døde’ translates to “The Day Nils Vik Died” – a much better title than the English version. Marta isn't so vital to the narrative to need an equal billing in the title with Nils. The cover of the English edition also, though beautiful, is slightly misleading.

🚣🏻‍♀️ The plot execution. Though the book starts off well, the proceedings soon go meandering, drifting aimlessly wherever the ferryman takes it. Not for those who like structure.

🚣🏻‍♀️ The overall tone. More monotonous than melancholic despite the potential for emotions. The end result is a bit too bland to create a longterm impact.

🚣🏻‍♀️ The writing. Feels too deliberate at times, like it was purposely trying to be literary and poetic in equal measure. This might work for some readers, but it is not to my reading preference. (This doesn’t seem like a translation issue, but I can't be sure.)

🚣🏻‍♀️ The gratuitous inclusion of vicious dog killing. There was no need to make the scene so graphic. Or to even have the scene in the first place. I’m fed up of books using animal cruelty frivolously.

🚣🏻‍♀️ The crass sexual content. I wasn’t initially sure if the author was a man or a woman and intended to check once I was done with the book. But this writing choice left me in no doubt. A senior character married that long to a woman and still thinking of how she offered to do what she did in their initial days of couplehood – classic ‘man writing woman’. 🙄 This spoiled the overall introspective atmosphere of the book for me.

🚣🏻‍♀️ The ending. Somewhat abrupt. The most important ‘why’ stays unanswered.


🎧 The Audiobook Experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 4 hrs 23 min, is narrated by Colin Mace. He does a pretty good job bringing Nils and his complex day to life, but given the topic and the writing approach, I wouldn’t recommend the audio version except to the most avid of listeners. The lack of structure and the plethora of characters are bound to create some confusion and zoning-out otherwise.


Overall, I expected to like the book far better given the praise I have seen showered on it. But most of it wasn’t to my taste. The slow pacing and introspective content were fine, but the lack of structure, the needless sexual and graphic inclusions, the flat character development, and the overly lyrical writing weren’t my cup of tea.

Recommended to those literary fiction readers who value prose over plot and don’t mind a lack of structure or depth in the characters.

2 stars.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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[Tini · Rating 5 out of 5]

All that we carry across.

In The Ferryman and His Wife, Norwegian author Frode Grytten delivers a haunting, quietly transcendent novel about the last day of a man's life - and all the ghosts that accompany him home.

Nils Vik wakes knowing this is the day he will die. A ferry driver on the Norwegian fjord, he begins his familiar morning routine one final time. But as he sets out on his last voyage, the dead begin to return- first his loyal dog, then his passengers, and finally, the love of his life, his wife Marta. What unfolds is a luminous reckoning told in reverse: a man's life measured not in years, but in the people, moments, and silences that defined him.

Winner of Norway's Brage Prize, The Ferryman and His Wife is a work of extraordinary tenderness. Grytten's beautiful prose feels like poetry in motion, at once spare and overflowing. The audiobook is impeccably narrated by Alison McCullough, whose voice carries the perfect balance of melancholy and warmth.

It's a story about death, yes, but also about everything that refuses to die: a legacy of memory, love, and the imprint of ordinary kindness. Grytten turns the smallness of one man's life into something vast and sacred.

The Ferryman and His Wife is a meditation on the crossings we all make: between past and present, between holding on and letting go. Haunting, quietly devastating, and unforgettable - a book I see myself returning to time and time again.

[Andrea Osnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Denne traff noe dypt i meg. Evig kjærlighet er fantastisk beskrevet, og jeg ville bare fortsette å følge Martha og Nils. I tillegg er skildringene av et samfunn ved fjorden virkelig nydelige.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, a ferryman is a constant variation, reliable and to be trusted absolutely, he comes when he says he will, he floods into the fjord and ebbs out of the fjord, just like that water that crashes and pools, that accepts and embraces all things. But always onwards, onwards, like the hands of the watch on his wrist…

Oh my. This spare and elegiac book snuck up on me and wrapped me in its warm embrace. From the first sentence, I knew this was the last day of ferryman Nils Vik’s life – the ordinary life of an ordinary man.

Yet there’s something that’s extraordinary in it as Nils – not only the person but the archetype, the character who acts as a guide or bridge between the world of the living and the dead – sets sail on his last journey, one of self-reflection and self-enlightenment.

One by one, Nils prepares to welcome those who have left an imprint on his life to his wooden boat, including his cherished wife, Marta, whom he loved almost beyond reason and yearns to see again. In the meanwhile, he reunites with his trusty dog Luna…his wayward younger brother Ivar…his close friend Robert who photographed the Vietnam War…a bloodthirsty cop Trygve, his old schoolmarm…each joins him on his last run.

He reflects, “It’s impossible to control a narrative once it’s set in motion. All you can do is follow its telling until the very last second” and indeed, that’s what he does. He revisits all the moments that comprise a life: the exhilaration of finding true love, the heartbreak of losing friends, the joy of finding what matters and what has meaning, the difficulty when, sometimes, life offers disappointment. All the while, the backdrop of the harsh and magnificent Norwegian fjords weaves its own kind of magic.

I can’t begin to articulate how much I loved this book – winner of Norway’s highest literary award and the author’s first major work to be translated into English. It’s stunningly good and I gratefully thank Algonquin Books and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.

[Hadrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con gesto serio pero sentido, los antiguos vikingos se despedían así: depositaban al difunto en una embarcación. Y antes de empujarla hacia el horizonte, para que atravesara los fiordos y llegara al océano abierto, le prendían fuego. Al final del todo, estaba el Valhalla. Era el destino, en el que se encontrarían con sus seres queridos y allegados, preparados para la eterna batalla contra los titanes.
¿Y qué es la vida si no una perpetua batalla? Somos arrojados a la existencia, con la promesa de momentos felices y plenos, sí. Pero también con sus golpes trágicos. ¿Cuando muramos —porque somos seres-para-la-muerte— volverán todos esos momentos a ser revividos tal y como es capaz nuestra memoria de atesorar?
El día que Nils Vik murió es eso. Una despedida, un diálogo con todo lo que un día fue parte de nosotros y nosotros parte de todo aquello. Es la historia del barquero Nils Vik, que ha ayudado a cruzar a gente, animales y cosas, de costa a costa, y es la historia del fiordo en el que vive. Él es una parte indivisible de la historia del paisaje. Intérprete de las fuerzas de la naturaleza, interpreta ahora, en su último viaje antes de expirar, su vida. Ataviado de su cuaderno de bitácora, gracias al cual conseguimos regresar al pasado, Nils ha ido dando cuenta de cada uno de sus días. Y como toda interpretación, esta es un acto de escucha y diálogo. Por su barco pasan todas las figuras de su pasado, incluida un perro, Luna, con el que conversa; todas ellas ya han dado el último paso hacia el más allá. Y desde allí, esperan a Nils: su mujer, su hermano y otros seres que han sido importantes en su vida.
Es una historia cuyo eco resuena con la figura mítica del barquero Aqueronte (me hace recordar el poema del gran Francisco Brines, “La última costa”), con la clara influencia de Edgar Lee Masters y su Antología de Spoon River. También escucho la voz del maestro noruego, del inmenso Knut Hamsun. Es una novela que aparenta simplicidad y claridad, y realmente lo es. Pero no fruto de una suerte de ingenuidad o simpleza, sino de una prosa depuradísima, esencial, alejada de todo retoricismo que solo dice lo nuclear. Con ese adusto gesto con el que nos hacemos a los nórdicos, sin embargo, trasluce una impresionante sensibilidad, un ser en el mundo fuertemente abierto a la voz del universo. En algunos momentos, la obra ha conseguido que asome una lágrima a mi mejilla; en muchos otros, he pasado páginas con la piel de gallina. Debo confesar que tengo cierta predilección hacia las letras noruegas, no sé por qué.
En definitiva, es la historia de nuestro camino hacia la muerte, la posibilidad más cierta y radical. Lo que nos impele a hacernos cargo de nuestra existencia.

[Ellery Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, introspective novel about a Norwegian ferryman on the last day of his life. This reads like a flashback of all the people that touched Nils's life, and every person introduced by the author becomes instantly real. As Nils pilots the ferry through the fjords, his dog Luna by his side, he meets the dead who have come before him and reflects on those he'll leave behind. It's a lovely, quiet book.

[Yaprak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nils Vik'in Öldüğü Gün, kısa ama etkileyici romanlardan biri. Norveç'te fiyortlarda teknesiyle insanları taşıyan, Nils Vik'in yaşamındaki son günü okuyoruz. Tek bir günde geçen filmler gibi roman da tek bir günde geçiyor aslında. Ama biz Nils'in köpeği dahil hayatına giren herkesle yeniden buluşuyor, geçmişi yad ediyoruz. Karısı Marta'ya olan aşkı, teknesinde yolcu ettiği insanlar, sakin ama dolu dolu geçtiğini hissettiğimiz bir hayat. Kitap sakinliği ve atmosferiyle bana geçtiğimiz günlerde izlediğim İzlanda'da geçen Hvitur Hvitur Dagur filmini anımsattı.

Sakin, büyük olayların olmadığı, karakterin zihninde ve anılarında gezinen kitapları seviyorsanız mutlaka okumanızı öneririm.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not too long ago, I received an email offering me an early review copy of The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten. I had never heard of the author and am not too familiar with Norwegian literature. I decided to take a chance. Coming in at just 176 pages, how much investment would I need to have in the novel should it not appeal to me. I am so grateful I took this chance.

Nils Vik, a ferryman in rural Norway, is living the last day of his life - literally. He is both complacent and in awe as he connects with the dead he has once known, all who played a part in his life and who are now appearing to him on his boat, ethereal and ghostly. As he interacts with the dead, "he will trace what he has loved in life, lift it up, honor it." "Have the dead come to him? Or have they come from him?" As Nils reflects on what may have seemed, at one time, a meaningless interaction, he is stunned by remembrances dear and life affirming.

He is waiting impatiently to reconnect with his beloved wife, Marta, who has pre-deceased him. Theirs was a great love, one that defined Nils and served as his north star. "I love you. That is who I am." He views their life together as narrative, one that is constantly reshaping itself as it proceeds towards this meditative end. What Nils is learning, as he moves towards his death, is that "Our lives are always illuminated by the lives of others."

Nils's logbook serves as his written memory. It contains the names of all the people he has transported through the fjord and the purpose of each transport. Some trips made little sense to him at the time while others had profound meaning. As he looks back, he can see the narrative thread of his life and make sense of how each stitch is interlocked. Each person who rises from the dead to greet and remind him of the past, is a part of him, an aspect of his life that he carries with him always.

I loved this book and treasured every part of it. It has both depth and lightness, joy and darkness. As NIls meets his inevitable death, he understands that life is not static. Rather, events are knit together and create a whole . "The end is never as you imagine it, and the end is everything, is it not?"

I thank Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel. The contents of this review are all my own.

[Wyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Time has outrun him. It’s been a matter of time for a good while already. It is always a matter of time. On this last day he will pull a thread through time, follow it backwards, see where time takes him. He will travel this fixed route, or rather the scheduled routes, for the very last time. He will trace what he has loved in life, lift it up, honour it. For if he doesn’t do this, who will?”

This is a beautifully written and perfectly translated story about a gentle Norwegian man named Nils Vik and the two loves of his life: his wife Marta and his profession - ferrying all manner of human beings back and forth across the fjord, at all times of day and night and in all types of weather and circumstance. These passengers and their stories, the inevitable waves and troughs of a long marriage, the majesty of the Norwegian landscape, the comfort of a faithful dog all combine to create an extraordinary reflection on an ordinary man and his ordinary life.

"People along the fjord have always viewed kindness as a form of weakness, but he [Nils Vik] showed that kindness is the opposite of weakness."

[Rine Bekkelund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helt ærlig elsket jeg den. Trodde den skulle være en «en mann med navn Ove» rip-off, men jeg sitter her på gråten med frysninger og vet ikke hva jeg føler. Skal sende den til mormor i posten tror jeg.

[Ten Cats Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre-Read Notes:

The cover of this one was just creepy enough to grab my attention.

"And don’t think I’m about to ask you. About what? Whether or not you were happy – because I know exactly what you’ll say. You’re one of those people who thinks you’re happy where you are, somebody who wants no more than what you already have." p67

Final Review

(thoughts & recs) This is a pretty short book so I read it all at once over the course of a restful Saturday. And I'm sorry to say that it was completely over my head. I think the lack of organization did me in. I'm seeing this a lot right now, short books with no page or chapter breaks. I'm not a fan of the element, but I've seen it work very well-- as in the other arc I'm reading now, called THE WHITE HOT. But it did not work for me here!

I actually want to try to read this one again. Sometimes a little break and an extra read gives me clarity on experimental fiction I don't catch the first time.

My Favorite Thing:

✔️ Very serious in tone, but with well placed hints of humor: "You spent my money on flowers? Sverre Nesbø asked. Your money? his wife asked in return. Yes, mine. What an idiot of a man I married, Synnve said, and jumped aboard." p24

Thank you to Frode Grytten and Alison McCullough (translator), Algonquin Books, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE FERRYMAN AND HIS WIFE. All views are mine.