The Bell in the Lake
By Lars Mytting
«Splendid historical novel […] It stands out as one of the best Norwegian novels this autumn.» Susanne Hedemann Hjorth, Dagens Næringsliv.
Description
As long as anyone could remember, the Sister Bells had rung over the narrow valley, with a sound so rich and powerful that three masses were all it took to render the bell-ringer deaf. The bells were forged in remembrance of the twins Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne, who were conjoined from the hips down. There was always an air of something greater about the twins, as if they belonged to a different, more powerful world altogether, and one of the tapestries they wove was said to foretell the future.
In 1879, a young pastor, just graduated, moves into the rectory where nineteen-year-old Astrid is in service. From Germany a young stranger arrives with grand visions for the parish. The old stave church that has housed the bells for centuries faces an uncertain future, and soon the village is subjected to sudden changes and unyielding wills.
