Card # 1, Kjære farmor Vi vil ønske deg alt godt for jula 2019. Og vi gleder oss nye familie samlinger i 2020 ... Altså et godt Nytt år Klem Fra Anna, Eli og Ola

Card #2, kære snille farmor godt jul så koselig at du feirer med oss! klem fra Anna 13

The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde, translated by Diane Oatley

I found this to be one of the better eco-fiction books I've read in recent memory. The writing is accomplished and captivating, leapfrogging in following two time separated journeys by different characters. One journey I thought of as depicting cause, and the other I thought of as depicting effect, both portrayed through personal experiences. The characters and their experiences are engaging enough to hold the interest of even those readers that don't care to consider the cause and effect distinctions of the two journeys.

To its credit, I found the overall story realistic and meaningful, adequately balanced, and without a moralizing conclusion.

This isn't a story like The Water Knife, but rather more of personnel relationships and the affects character's experiences have on their relationships. ( )

Important topic but I just couldn’t stay interested. I did not enjoy the alternating timeline and felt it took way too long for David and Lous story to connect to Signe’s. I was a bit bored and waited for it to get better. ( )

Fabulous book about the effects of climate change, and yet not about climate change. I worry when I see "climate change", expecting hordes of plastic-straw-police to descend with their tales of gloom and doom. But this story was a story first, not a sermon.

And what a fabulous story. Signe shows how environmentalism is a personal issue, how we carry the wounds of childhood forward with us in life, imposing those scars onto the world. We never seem to outgrow our youngest years, those where we choose parental sides and form opinions based on the frames they create for us. David shows us the power of family and community, how hard it is to give up what you know and to lose what you have.

My favorite quote is one that ties the two stories together: "in the winter, 400 whales were beached in New Zealand -- they couldn't leave because they waited for each other. The smallest whales could have managed it, at high tide they could have swum away, but they stayed, never abandoned their parents, stayed with the pod, dying with the others instead."

Read for Modern Mrs Darcy challenge - a book in translation
And for BookRiot Read Harder challenge - a book about climate change ( )

Good story but a bit boring in the writing for me. ( )