Das Jahr

Tomas Espedal's new book begins on April 6, the day Petrarch first saw his Laura. Starting from this unfulfilled love, the source of Petrarch's love poems, Espedal explores whether such a great, unique love that transcends all time is still possible today, or if it was ever possible at all. Together with his frail father, he embarks on a cruise through the Mediterranean and only realizes there, as his father seems to blossom, that he will soon lose him as well. In his father's love for his deceased mother, as well as in his own love for Janne, who left him years ago, Tomas recognizes something similarly unconditional and enduring as in Petrarch. In the end, however, they were all alone. Not only is the experience of such deep love life-changing, but so is its loss. How is it possible to continue living as before in the face of such a profound experience? This year is Tomas Espedal's most poetic book to date. It deals with significant and life-altering experiences: love, loss, war, death, aging and despair, stagnation and the eternal repetition of the same. And it speaks to the power of literature, which can save us through the darkest times. "A year can contain an entire life, and it can be completely empty." - Tomas Espedal "Tomas Espedal may write slim books and get by with few sentences. In literary terms, he is a heavyweight." - Christian Mückl, Nürnberger Zeitung.