The Ferryman and his Wife (Den Dagen Nils Vik Døde) – Frode Grytten, translated to English by Alison McCullough
Hello! Welcome to my very first book club 😊 I’m very excited to share my opinion on this book as it’s one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. I’ll keep the storyline a little vague in case this (hopefully fantastic) review makes you want to read the book yourself! It’s only 166 pages and a very easy read, so it should be easy to finish in a weekend or so!
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渡船夫和他的妻子 (挪威語：Den Dagen Nils Vik Døde）- Frode Grytten, 由Alison McCullough翻譯成英文
你好！歡迎來到我第一個讀書會！我很興奮跟大家分享我對這本書的看法，因爲它是我很久以來讀過最好的書之一。爲了避免劇透，如果我（希望很棒）的書評讓你想自己看這本書的話，我會寫關於故事的情節描述比較模糊！這本書只有166頁，所以一個周末左右應該能看完！
“There will be a last time you swing your daughter onto your shoulders and carry her through the forest. A last time you walk up the mountainside and gaze out across the landscape that is yours. A last time you go to the store to buy bread and milk and butter. A last summer. A last swim.”
”總有一天，會是你最後一次把女兒扛在肩上，背著她走過森林。你最後一次爬山上，看看你的風景。最後一次去商店買麵包，牛奶和奶油。最後的夏天。最後一次游泳。”
Coincidentally, the day before I read this quote I had been talking to my mum about the very same notion. We were talking about how one day, when I was a child, she put me down and never picked me up again. How we wished we could know when it was about to be our last time doing something or seeing someone. I had no idea that I would find and read a book that speaks so beautifully on that topic the very next day.
奇怪的是，讀這句話的前一天我跟我媽媽討論一樣的概念了。我們談到，我小時候有一天媽媽把我放下，再也沒有把我抱起來。我們都很希望能提前知道最後一次做東西到了，最後一次看一個人到了。我沒想到隔天會找到一本關於同一主題這麽美麗描述的書。
The book follows Nils Vik as he wakes up on the last day of his life. He starts his day as usual, and sets off on his boat into the Norwegian fjords. As he has done for many years, he collects people along the fjord to take them safely across. Only this time, he picks up a lifetime of passengers who join him from beyond the grave, including his dog, old friends and neighbours, and strangers he met in passing. But Nils is waiting for one person to come aboard his boat, his beloved late wife.
這本書講述Nils Vik在他生命最後一天。他醒來後像平常一樣開始新的一天，出海進入挪威的峽灣。多年來，他總是在峽灣接人渡海，把他們平安送到對岸。可是這一次，他接的乘客都是生前認識已經離世的人，包括他的狗，老朋友們和鄰居，甚至他一次碰到過的陌生人。可是Nils在等待一個人上船；他摯愛已故的妻子。
My Thoughts ✦ 我的看法
This book is a beautiful exploration of what it means to be alive, and what it means to live a good life. To form connections with others even if you may be just a fleeting moment in their journey. I had that annoying prickly feeling in the back of my throat almost the entire way through this book. Half of it was from a deep feeling of sadness, for how many ‘last times’ I‘ll have without knowing it, the inevitability of grief and death. The teary feeling also came from how the book presents life as so beautiful, and how much we have to be grateful for. The characters are relatable, flawed and extremely human. The ordinary and mundane aspects of their lives being represented as something beautiful provides an escape from a world which seems to be becoming less and less human.
這本書動人地探討生命的意義，以及什麼才算是美好的生活。它提醒我們，雖然我們只是別人旅程中片刻的一瞬，可是還能跟他們建立連結。讀這本書時，我幾乎從頭到尾都感覺喉嚨發緊。一方面是因爲我感到内心的悲傷，想到自己未來會經歷幾個沒有預警的‘最後一次’，以及悲傷和死亡的必然性。另一方面也來自這本書描述生活是美好的，讓我們意識到生活中擁有很多值得感恩的事。書中的人物有親和力，有缺點，也有人性。他們生活中普通的部分被描寫美好的事物，讓人能逃離這個似乎越來越缺乏人情味的世界。
I absolutely love Norway, so I particularly loved this book for that reason too. It’s the first place I ever went to on a solo-trip, at the age of 19, and I immediately fell in love with the fjords, the rain, and the mountains. I remember getting a short boat ride through the fjords by Bergen to a place called Mostraumen, and passing by the waterfalls pouring from the cliffs with the cold air whipping my hair in every direction, I felt very small and very alive. Maybe you can understand why I think this book reads as a love letter to the dramatic landscapes and harsh conditions, and the way it affects the people who live there.
我熱愛挪威，所以特別喜歡這本書。19歲那一年，我第一次獨自旅行去挪威。我立刻愛上了那裡的峽灣，雨水和高山。我記得那時從卑爾根上船沿著峽灣去一個叫Mostraumen的地方。瀑布從峭壁下來了，以及冷風吹亂我的頭髮，都讓我感覺自己非常小，自己也真的活著。所以你應該理解，對我來説這本書讀起來像是一封情書，對壯麗的風景和惡劣的環境，以及它們對住在那裡的人們的影響。
I must admit I’m a bit rogue when it comes to buying books, my bookshelf is a mess of genres and styles as I usually just go off the cover art and a quick skim of the blurb. This book was on the front table of David’s Bookshop in Letchworth Garden City (one of the best bookshops in the world btw) and instantly drew me in with its gorgeous cover. I never would have guessed that it would impact me so deeply, and would solidify my desire to be more grateful for what I have, no matter how mundane it may be. Maybe my book-picking techniques work!
我該承認，買書時我有點隨性。我的書架很亂，充滿各種類型和風格的書，因爲我通常只是看封面設計和内容介紹就決定買。這本書是我在Letchworth Garden City的David’s Bookshop門口展示桌上找到的（你該知道，是全世界最棒的書店之一）它的精美封面馬上吸引我了。我沒想到這本書會成為一本讓我記得很久的書，也讓我更珍惜自己擁有的，無論多麼普通。看來我的選書方式真不錯！
Thanks so much for reading! Let me know your thoughts on this book if you have read it, and if you haven’t, I hope I have inspired you to do so! The photos are all ones that I have taken of the fjords during my adventures in Norway, so you can really see how gorgeous the book’s setting is!
Next month (March 24th), I’ll be discussing the book ‘The Astonishing Colour of After’ by Emily X.R. Pan, a book about life, loss and love as the main character travels to Taiwan to learn more about herself. I haven’t read this book, and it’s a bit of a longer one so I suppose I should really get started! See you then!
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非常感謝你看到這裡！如果你已經度過這本書，歡迎來分享你的看法。如果還沒的話，我希望這篇文章會給你一些靈感！這個文章的照片都是我在挪威旅行自己拍的，所以你能看到這本書的背景怎麽樣！
下個月（3月24日）我會討論Emily X.R. Pan的《The Astonishing Colour of After》，這本書討論生命，失落和愛，主角往前台灣爲了多認識她自己。我還沒看這本書，還有它比較長，所以我應該快開始！拜拜！
