Nordic Book Club discussion

This is the thread for discussing the September book One of Us Is Sleeping by Josefine Klougart

Josefine Klougart's website

Review in Kirkus

Review in Publishers Weekly

The author discusses the book (in Danish)

Haaze wrote: "The author discusses the book (in Danish)

Thanks for sharing!

"

Tonight we're meeting at Scandinavia House to discuss One of Us Is Sleeping by Josefine Klougart. We had the pleasure of welcoming Josefine to Scandinavia House last Monday, September 19 to read and discuss the book and our discussion here is heavily influenced by her visit. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and questions about the book!

What was your reading experience? Did you enjoy reading the book? What parts did you enjoy/not enjoy?

The novel focuses heavily on landscape and the narrators relationship to/with the landscape. How does landscape influence the narrator and shape her behavior?

One of Us Is Sleeping has a non-chronological narrative structure. What did you think of Klougart's decision to write in this manner?

How did the non-chronological narrative affect your of the book?

Klougart spoke quite a bit about how literature is able to expand your life or, to phrase it differently, to deepen your experiences. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

The author is very interested in the relationship between writing and memory. How did you see that play out in the novel?

Is the title an apt one? Do you think it accurately describes the contents of the book?

The novel is about loss—broken relationships, illness, mortality, and death. Did the narrator's loss inspire empathy in you?

Does the narrator's interior monologue advance the story?

Did you find any passages or lines particularly striking? If so, please share them here.

What did you think of Klougart's language in the novel? How would you describe it?

Why do you think the novel is set in winter? Why not spring, summer, or fall?

Klougart often switches the perspective of her novel by moving between first- and third-person perspective, sometimes in the same sentence. Did this change your reading of the novel? If so, how?

Let's discuss!