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The Bell in the Lake

By: Lars Mytting, Deborah Dawkin - translator
Narrated by: Roger May
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Publisher's Summary

The first in a rich historical trilogy that draws on legend, by a literary craftsman and the author of The Sixteen Trees of the Somme.

Norway, 1880. Winter is hard in Butangen, a village secluded at the end of a valley. The lake has frozen and for months the ground is too hard to bury the dead. Astrid Hekne dreams of a life beyond all this, beyond marriage, children and working the land to the end of her days. Then Pastor Kai Schweigaard takes over the small parish, with its 700-year-old stave church carved with pagan deities. The two bells in the tower were forged by Astrid's forefather in the 16th century, in memory of conjoined twins Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne. They are said to hold supernatural powers.

The villagers are wary of the pastor and his resolve to do away with their centuries-old traditions, though Astrid also finds herself drawn to him. And then a stranger arrives from Dresden, with grand plans for the church itself. For headstrong Astrid this may be a provocation too far.

Talented architecture student Gerhard Schönauer is an improbable figure in this rugged community. Astrid has never met anyone like him; he seems so different, so sensitive. She finds that she must make a choice: for her homeland and the pastor, or for an uncertain future in Germany.

Then the bells begin to ring....

Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin.

With the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

©2020 Deborah Dawkin, Lars Mytting (P)2020 Quercus Editions Limited

Critic Reviews

"Love, suspense, nature and superstition are woven together in this powerful novel" (Maja Lunde, author of The History of Bees)

"An exquisitely atmospheric novel...The Bell in the Lake does what fiction promises: to steal you away to another world and ask you, if unfairly, to leave a little of your heart behind" (Derek B. Miller, author of Norwegian by Night)

"Lyrical, melancholy and with beautifully drawn characters, this pitches old beliefs against new ways with a haunting delicacy that rings true." (Daily Mail)

What listeners say about The Bell in the Lake

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An interesting story set long ago

As I know nothing about Norway I was interested in hearing the great descriptions of the lakes and landscape and surrounding areas. The way the narrator read the story made it very clear how extremely cold it gets! I felt cold when Astrid was cold and fearful when she was!

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Interesting but not riveting

Some of the historical facts were interesting but the characters fell a bit flat for me - could have been because of the somewhat dull narration - I did finish it however!

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