This is the first of Christian Jungersen’s books. I read it in the original Danish (perhaps it hasn’t been translated into English yet). I’ve read and much enjoyed his two later ones also.
Though perhaps not as brilliant as his more recent books, this one is also exquisitely written, very readable and difficult to put down.
It is a delineation of Poul Martin, who is now an old man, in and out of hospital. He looks back and ponders on his life and, particularly, on his relationship with Edouard, the best friend of his youth.
Poul Martin becomes more and more obsessed with finding Edouard, with whom he has lost contact, and who now lives abroad. He seems to be hiding from someone or something, perhaps even from Poul Martin, though we don’t understand how this could be, since he is such an innocuous character.
Jungersen goes deeply into Poul Martin’s character/life. As we approach the end of the book, more and more is revealed about the relationship between Poul Martin and the mysterious and fickle Edouard, and the story becomes more and more gripping and the ending unexpected.
The author’s forte lies in the psychological depth of his portrayals.
In his two later books, he recounts the story from the point-of-view of a woman, and in this book, though he himself is a younger man, at least to judge from his photo, he convincingly portrays the thoughts and life of an old man.
I warmly recommend this book. Read both it and his two other books. All Jungersen’s books have received literary awards in Denmark.