Some years ago I was fortunate enough to win a box of books, having filled in a survey by a publisher. There were about twenty of them and few of them survived my initial cull because they looked a bit dull, but Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors has been lingering on my to-be-read pile ever since because the summary on the back sounded interesting, although not gripping enough for me to have read it before now.
The author is Danish, the book has been translated into English by Misha Hoekstra, and the story is set in Copenhagen. Sonja is a middle-aged woman who has come from the countryside in Jutland to live in the capital. She is learning to drive, she has regular massages, she translates gritty crime novels from Swedish to Danish for a living, her best friend is drifting away and her sister makes excuses not to speak to her on the telephone. In fact, she has lost herself and her sense of belonging.
During the short period that the book covers we follow Sonja through her driving lessons where she cannot get the hang of changing gear. We watch her as everyone else seems to offload on her or to use her for their own ends and she tries to make sense of her life. This is a sharply observed novel and not sad, despite the subject matter. Sonja is an intelligent and strong woman but somehow she has lost her way. I enjoyed this novel and was delighted with the ending when Sonja finally did what the reader knows that she needs to do. The narrative is filled with Sonja’s memories and her love for her country and I wished, at times, that I knew more about Denmark and its culture.
I am glad that I finally got around to reading this book which, as it is very nearly new, I shall pass on to Oxfam for a new reader to enjoy.
