In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger

In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife by Sebastian Junger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife starts off like a thriller as the author is rushed from home to the hospital for what is eventually diagnosed as a ruptured aneurysm in a pancreatic artery and internal hemorrhage. The bulk of the book is about his time in the hospital, including a "near death experience" vision of his late father, and alternates with other perilous experiences in his life as a war journalist. The latter part of the book hopscotches between physics, death and spirituality and my interest waned.

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Near Distance by Hanna Stoltenberg

Near Distance by Hanna Stoltenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Near Distance by Hanna Stoltenberg is an apt title for the strained relationship of the mother and daughter in this prize-winning novel from Norway. The mother is a divorced woman of around fifty who enjoys the noncommittal aspects of online dating and sex, appreciates her drink, is uninterested in her job managing a jewelry store, and only occasionally sees her daughter and grandchildren. Most of the narrative is from her perspective. The daughter invites her to a "girls weekend" in London and reveals her purpose once they are in the plane. She is stalking her husband's mistress and wants moral support from her mother. They proceed to meet up with her daughter's old friends, become separated and drink too much. Extraordinary detail is provided of each bleak scene in this almost plotless novel which moves along at a sure pace with precise descriptions and skillful characterization. Each time I picked up the book, I remember thinking there is nothing happening here, yet I kept reading. I recommend it for its excellent prose and portrayals as well as Wendy H. Gabrielsen's superb translation. One reviewer described it as reminiscent of early Ian McEwan which fits.

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