Nutmeg

by Kristin Valla, James Anderson (Translator)

Gabriel Angelico lives in a mountain town in Venezuela, and when a young Norwegian woman, Klara Jorgenson, appears in town, his life is changed forever. Klara must choose between her soulmate, Gabriel, and William Penn, the reliable, loving Norwegian man she has been living with on an island off the coast of Venezuela.  Rich with loving imagery and insightful description, this book is a tender exploration of human tragedies.

Genres: Fiction, Roman

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Kristin Valla is a Norwegian author. She has written three novels and a book of non-fiction on Dagny Juel.

Valla grew up in Finneidfjord in Northern Norway. She currently lives in Oslo with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

[Ken Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Den journalistutdannede Kristin Valla debuterer med en vakker fabel med handling i all hovedsak fra Sør-Amerika. En ung, norsk kvinne bosetter seg på en øy med en sjømann, som hun spøkefullt omtaler som kaptein. Vi følger denne kvinnen og de menneskene hun treffer, i denne romanen på to hundre sider.

Boken hadde fortjent fire stjerner, men det til tider journalistaktige språket trekker dessverre såpass ned at vi lander på tre stjerner. Det hjelper heller ikke at forfatteren ikke vet forskjell på plast og plastikk.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kristin Valla is a Norwegian writer. The original norwegian title of the book is Muskat. I should maybe have read it in Norwegian, but English was almost as good, cos the book wasn't about Norway.

Klaga Jörgense, an young Nowegian literature stundent comes to a small town in Venezuela to think of her life, during which she has tralleled from countrey to countrey. Now she hesitates to settle down. She meats professor Gabriel Angelico, who dreams of leaving the small town where he has lived all his life. They fall in love, and Klara must choose between Gabriel and her own sea captain back home...

The book is very beautiful. The characters are beautiful. The atmosphere of the boom is quite dreamy. The book is like a dream. The characters have their own dreams which they want to fullfill. All beautiful and sad... Like life is...

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know what to expect coming into this book as i happened to pick it up in a 2nd hand bookshop and just like the premise of it. Well i had a pleasant surprise, the story itself meanders along so if your looking for a pacy read this isn’t it, but what it is is a wonderful book about fate, love and finding yourself in someone you meet. The writing is beautiful and lyrical and there was so many things i have written down out of this book as the authors way with words is just sublime. This book is uplifting and sad all rolled into one and although its not a fast paced read i found myself wanting to go back to it every night as looked forward to seeing what would happen next. To me it feels a bit like Sarah Winmans still life in the fact that its about people and the life they make for themselves and the decisions they make and the impact that has. I’m glad i stumbled on this book as it felt like a treasure waiting to be found.

[Anna Sæthre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vi hadde denne boka i min barndomsheim, og sjølv om eg aldri leste den ferdig då, glemte eg den aldri. Så innimellom har den dukka opp i minnet, og det var vel på tide å lese den.

Hovedpersonen Klara er fjern og stille av personlighet, så ho får vi liksom aldri heilt taket på. Språket er fint, sjølv om eg alltid stopper opp med ordet «mave», som er det rareste ordet i bokmålsordlista. Personlig digresjon.

Det er en drømmande bok, fylt av reiseglede og en sår og sårende kjærlighetshistorie. Greitt å ha lest den, men ikkje ei bok eg kjem til å hugse lenge. Eller kanskje det blir det?

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeg skjønte ikke så mye av boka.
Hun giftet seg med feil mann!?
Bør leses på nytt om noen år.

[Yuliia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light and untypical book.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[osoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Его звали Габриэль Анхелико, и сердце у него от рождения было с правой стороны. Всю жизнь он прожил в одном и том же городке, в том же самом доме, в одной и той же точке, неразличимой на географической карте.

Это история любви. Она совсем не простая, эта любовь. Она ставит перед выбором. Она уходит. Она состоит из мимолетных ощущений, когда при виде ее не хватает воздуха, руки трясутся, голос дрожит и краска приливает к лицу. Когда закрываешь свое краснющее лицо газетой и делаешь вид, что ты совершенно случайно оказался на скамейке университетского двора этим утром. Когда подмечаешь мельчайшие детали ее сегодняшнего гардероба, и понимаешь, что даже одев лохмотья – она все равно была бы радостью этого дня, маленьким солнцем в душной аудитории.

А когда она придет к тебе в гости, ты сможешь просто помолчать с ней – обо всем. И о вашей несбывшейся любви тоже.

Меня не спасло даже летнее солнце, ободряюще припекающее макушку. Ощущения нахлынули и не отпускали до самого конца. Я болела за Анхелико, за то прекрасное и странное, что было между ними. Я завидовала этим людям черной завистью, потому что им был дан этот удивительный шанс. Я проклинала Клару, которая выбрала своего капитана.
Редкая история любви, пробравшаяся в самое сердце. С самого начала над этой историей висела печать обреченности, и я прочувствовала это мама не горюй, хотя обычно на любовные истории реагирую как стойкий оловянный солдатик, зная, что все у героев потом будет зашибись, пускай даже не сразу после расставания. А тут.. черт, да тут с самого начала ясно, что не будет этого потом.
А сейчас просто невероятно трепетно.

annikeh.net

[M. Sarki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was failed to be impressed by the attempted clever use of language. Either the translator (who was the reason I even bought the book to read) decided to stick flowery adjectives and adverbs in there, or the author is a rather boring person who had some need to impress herself on the masses. By midpoint I was not buying, and no longer interested in subjecting myself to whatever agenda she may, or may not, have been pushing.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, unique and touching love story - I really enjoyed this. It's short, not demanding and doesn't require much imagination, not the usual type of book I read, but I found myself unable to put it down.

[Ria]

Muskaat by Kristin Valla (2002)

[Theophanu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, Maritious. I just didn't like it. Her use of standard themes is probably intended, but I don't think it worked well.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful love novels I've ever read.