Why a Booktrail?
2000s: A quirky and unforgettable read about an unlikely connection in Lofoten, a string of 5 islands above the Arctic Circle.
The Sunlit Night
What you need to know before your trail
Frances and Yasha are two young people who meet quite literarily at the top of the world – the land of the midnight sun.
Frances is escaping her family and her life back in Manhattan.She seeks refuge at a Norwegian artist colony and Yasha is here for another reason – he and his father used to own a bakery back in Brooklyn but now his father has died he is carrying out his wish to be buried ‘ at the top of the world’
In this land of midnight sun and space for reflection, two very people meet and come together in the ultimate place to escape the world around you and the place where you might just find yourself.
Travel Guide
From Manhattan and Brookyln to the place at the top of the world – the Lofoten islands in Norway – which are the rather magical setting for a novel of finding peace and finding yourself.
Welcome to the Lofoten islands – visitnorway.com/north/lofoten
Frances’s journey to the islands comes from a desire to seek refuge at a Norwegian artist colony that’s offered her a painting apprenticeship. One of the characters there, Nils is secretive about his relationship to the Sami, Norway’s indigenous reindeer herders. For this is a land where reindeers roam, where isolation is king and where Norse folklore, magic and wonder fill the air.
This is the land of colours, of light and magical ethereal moments –
“These hours were characterized by a wildness of colors, the combined power of a sunset and sunrise. It was easy to watch the horizon for hours straight, the sun in perpetual motion, the sky turning orange and cranberry until at three it returned to blue, and I felt ready for bed.”
Yasha is burying a beloved parent having just met the mum who abandoned them both. The fact that his father expressed a wish to be buried in this haunting landscape is poignant –
The midnight sun came in shades of pink. The fjords rushed up onto white-sanded beaches, and the sand made the water Bermuda-green. The house were always red.
Although the Viking museum in the book is a fictional, there is a real Viking museum (LOFOTR) and whilst the author states that this is not based on the museum in any way, the museum both in the book and in real life is a nice place to be and a perfect place to explore the region.
The sunlit night of the magical and ethereal landscape of the Lofoten islands teaches then both that love, independence are not mutually exclusive and that being alone doesn’t mean that they have to be lonely.
It’s amazing what answers and understanding you find when you aren’t even looking for them.
Trail Gallery
Where Next?
