Toxic by Helga Flatland translated by Matt Bagguley #Review

 

Toxic by Helga Flatland was published by Orenda Books in paperback on May 23rd. I am delighted to have a great giveaway and the chance for you to win a print copy of Toxic. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.

When Mathilde is forced to leave her teaching job in Oslo after her relationship with eighteen-year-old Jacob is exposed, she flees to the countryside for a more authentic life.

Her new home is a quiet cottage on the outskirts of a dairy farm run by Andres and Johs, whose hobbies include playing the fiddle and telling folktales – many of them about female rebellion and disobedience, and seeking justice, whatever it takes.

But beneath the surface of the apparently friendly and peaceful life on the farm, something darker and less harmonic starts to vibrate, and with Mathilde’s arrival, cracks start appearing … everywhere.

My Thoughts

Tension lies as an undercurrent to this story, symbolized by the ever present Coronavirus pandemic which slowly and insidiously creeps into every part of everyone's lives. The story is told through two viewpoints, that of Mathilde and Johs. In Oslo, Mathilde, a schoolteacher, is soon drawn into an inappropriate relationship with one of her pupils. Her subsequent disgrace results in her leaving the city and renting a house belonging to two farmers, Andres and Johs. I did not find Mathilde a particularly likeable character. She did not seem to take responsibility for her actions or acknowledge the damage she does to people's lives.The brothers are close but contrast each other. Andres, married with a family, is anxious and over-reacts. Johs keeps his eye on him, wary of how he is feeling.

    The writing is understated and you have to read between the lines at times as to what is happening. Mathilde affects the lives of several villagers in a destructive way but there is a defiance in her behaviour. You soon see that their childhoods have affected their lives as adults.  Andres and Johs' deceased grandfather, a well known musician, emerges as a domineering character. Andres, the more naturally talented of the brothers, musically, has shown no interest, leaving Johs craving for recognition.  The tales of folklore woven from the music, seem to settle in the background creating an edgy and fretful mood. This is certainly a singular book, unlike other domestic noir and I am not even sure if I can categorise it as such. Economical in style, it mirrors the lives it describes, causing the reader to interpret subtle clues as to their inner thoughts.

In short: family relationships

About the Author

Helga Flatland is one of Norway’s most awarded and widely read authors. Born in Telemark, Norway, in 1984, she made her literary debut in 2010 with the novel Stay If You Can, Leave If You Must, for which she was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas’ First Book Prize. She has written six novels and a children’s book and has won several other literary awards. Her fifth novel, A Modern Family (her first English translation), was published to wide acclaim in Norway in August 2017 and was a number-one bestseller. The rights have subsequently been sold across Europe and the novel has sold more than 100,000 copies. One Last Time was published in 2020 and also topped bestseller lists in Norway. Helga lives in Oslo.

You can follow Helga here: X (Twitter) 

Book links: Amazon UK 

 

 
Thanks to Helga Flatland and Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the Blog Tour. 

Check out these great blogs on the Blog Tour!

 

 

Giveaway (UK only)

 

To win a print copy of Toxic, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!

 Closing Date is June 14th 2024 and there is one winner.

*Terms and Conditions –UK only. The winner will be selected at random via a random Tweet Selector from all valid entries and will be notified by X (Twitter) and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.