Christina Hesselholdt, trans. Paul Russell Garrett (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
Companions follows the lives of a group of friends and the challenges that mid-life presents them. The novel is narrated through a series of monologues from the various characters’ perspectives and has settings that span all across Europe from the Lake District to Belgrade. The multiple voices give a varied pace but also means there is a sense of continuity through the pieces. It is also interesting to see several perspectives on the same incident. At times, the language is poetic and nostalgic, at others almost clinical, which reflects the internal conflicts of the characters well. Hesselholdt writes with a sharp ability to pinpoint the trials and tribulations that plague the human condition and the characters muse upon the meaning of life, love, affairs, friendship and death.
Price: £12.99. Info: www.fitzcarraldoeditions.com (LM)