“It is as if time is irrelevant. My life’s memories take up space with no regard to when they happened, or to their actual time-span. The memories of brief incidents occupy almost all time, while years of my life have left no trace.”

“I think that perhaps there are no such defining moments at all. Beginnings and ends are fluid, long chains of events where some links seem so insignificant and others so very momentous, while in fact all have the same weight. What may appear as a single dramatic moment is just a link between what was before and what comes after.”

Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson

I'm finishing this book today, and I have not fully processed all my reactions to it yet. It is a stunning novel, sparse, concisely detailed with no extra fluff. Two intertwining life stories of completely different people, and the serendipitous connections that unite them. Astrid is an elderly woman, isolated socially and geographically, and is haunted by horrific memories. Veronika is a modern young woman who befriends her, as she is recovering from her own tragedy. They discuss their pasts and help each other move on. Reading details about Sweden, an area completely unknown to me was especially pleasant (if I go I had better learn to like rye bread and herring). It made me also want to go hug my mom.

I appreciated that nothing in this was Hallmark movie-of-the-week material, and as each chapter unfolded I was genuinely surprised at some twists the story contained. Usually I can predict pretty well what comes next, and this had me floored. One character realizes that her decades old anger was directed at the wrong person, and that she had to recover from the damage that anger caused. It's not an easy story: technically it's simple to read but it brings up some very painful emotions, those that caused me to put it down for a day or two. Again, it's not a happy story, but it was strangely uplifting, in that these ones were able to see forward and not dwell on the past. Most of all, it seems to send the message that we can't possibly know what events have shaped the people we love, and all the pains they may have endured, but we can try to find a way to love them as is. Without feeling like we have to judge or condone what we don't understand. ( )

This is a beautiful novel about two women – one in her 80s, the other in her 30s – who gradually become friends and offer each other solace by being there for one another, listening quietly, lovingly and with infinite patience. I loved the Scandinavian setting. ( )

Two isolated and very private women begin a friendship and gradually uncover their innermost feelings and and heartbreaking experiences. ( )

Veronika, a young woman in her 30's, comes to stay at a remote farmhouse in Sweden following the death of her lover in New Zealand. Her only neighbor is an odd, reclusive older woman--Astrid. As the year unfolds, a friendship develops between these very dissimilar women and they come to depend on one another for emotional solace and even redemption.

The story is beautifully written and beautifully paced, unfolding with gentle slowness against the seasonal backdrop of Sweden and with a loving attention to detail that makes each page a pleasure to read. It touches on sensitive subjects--suicide, molestation, infanticide--but with a very light touch indeed. The controversial nature of some of the action discussed in the book, and Olsson's unique style would make it a good candidate for book club discussion. ( )

Our book club really enjoyed this book, and it gave us much to discuss. The two main characters are many faceted and very interesting. The writer makes you want to get to know them better. ( )

I didn't like this book at all. Read it for book club and I couldn't wait for it to be over. ( )

This gorgeously crafted novel tells the story of the friendship between two women, one older and one younger. If you loved Out Stealing Horses, you will enjoy this book just as much. Finely nuanced, sparely written and perfectly paced. It's hard to believe this is a debut. ( )

Beautiful story about friendship, shame, secrets. Most impressed with writing style. ( )

Linda Olsson has written two books and I have just read and enjoyed the second. Let me sing you gentle songs is actually the first book she wrote and I enjoyed it very much. I love the way that she writes. It is a simple story, the story of the friendship between two women, one older and one younger, set in Sweden. Veronika, the younger, arrives in a small village, late at night, in search of peace and solitude, to enable her to come to terms with the grief and loss that have overtaken her, and to try to finish her novel. Next door lives an older, reclusive, woman Astrid, who has her own family secrets and personal tragedies. Astrid watches Veronika unpack the car and watches her day to day activities. When she does not see Veronika for a few days she becomes worried and knocks on Veronika's door and thus begins a friendship between the two women. As they become closer they gradually reveal to each other the secrets of their lives and healing begins for both of them. . The story is told against the backdrop of the changing seasons. A beautiful story. ( )

"Astrid & Veronika" recounts the friendship that springs up between two women badly in need of it, and how it saves them. Ms. Olsson describes it very well; the friendship unfolds at a realistic pace and their relationship gains in sweetness as the book travels along. I would like to salute the author for the opening image in this book: the younger woman, Veronika, arrives at a rental home late at night and unloads her car by the light from the headlights. This makes a small tunnel of light in an otherwise black-as-pitch world; thus does hope ignite and life hold the potential for a re-start. Astrid sees this glimmer from her neighboring home and senses a return to life for herself.

The seasons are turned interestingly upon their heads: spring is portrayed as the hardest time to bring forth young, while in autumn mothers have the benefit of the fullness of Earth's bounty - it's easy to find food and provide for offspring. The friendship has its hard knocks, and survives everything.

This is a gentle, graceful tale, with the possible subtitle, "Now let me sing gentle songs." This, in fact, is the name of the book Veronika winds up writing. It's life-affirming, wonderfully written, and well worth it. If you haven't checked this one out, do so right away. ( )

The only thing more inviting than the cover of this rather short novel is the story itself. Linda Olsson's first novel Astrid & Veronika is beautifully written and the two women come to full life as their stories unfold slowly over the course of four seasons.
Please visit my blog LibraryCatsBooks to read the full review. ( )

I was looking up Veronica by Mary Gaitskill which I want to add to my to be read pile, but came across this one and remembered it. I LOVED this book! What a great story of a friendship between two women, one young and one old, in Sweden, where I have never been and was thrilled to live in for a week or so while I was reading the book. There was one thing about the ending that didn't seem consistent but what the hey. A great read.Michele ( )

It surprised me how much I enjoyed this quite predictable and somewhat melodramatic book and inter generational female friendship. The writing was very good, the characters, particularly Astrid, were well developed, and the plot was enough to entice me to read it in one sitting. ( )

This book is billed as one of those "unlikely friendship between women" stories; the last one I'd read was distinctly awful, so I was wary of this one. It's Olsson's first novel. She clearly has some promise as a writer. Veronika, a twenty-something writer arriving in rural Sweden to work on her book, rents a house next to Astrid, who is about 78. It started out alright. A couple pages in: "[Veronika's] life slowly found its own organic rhythm. After a week she has established her morning routine. She got up early, had coffee at the kitchen table and watched to room absorb that growing daylight. It felt as if the house had accepted her, as if they had begun their life together. The soles of her feet had become familiar with the wooden stpes of the staircase, her nose accustomed to the smells of the walls, and she was gradually adding her own imprint, leaving minute traces."

The writing shows some descriptive talent. However, it's like this the whole book. Nearly everything is described this way, and it starts to get tedious rather quickly. As Veronika and Astrid meet, they both start to wake up to life or something, and start telling each other of their pasts. And the descriptions in their narrated stories are also this overdone and emotionally loaded. There's also no sense of priority as far as what has significance; memories from years ago still contain bits about the angle and quality of the light on the floorboards. Every pause in conversation, every "Astrid said nothing" and "Veronika fell silent" is recorded, as is every detail of everything they pass when they walk together. It's incredibly tiring, as are the instances of things like, "You know, Veronika, there was a time when I was afraid to come here. Now I understand that it was my own company that I feared." There are many of these.

Overall, the book is tedious and melodramatic; you hear about their great pains, and how much they've been afraid of life, and you want to tell them to get OVER it already. I found myself constantly rolling my eyes at the writing, and got sick enough of it that I didn't care about the characters at all. Had I not been reading this for a book club, I wouldn't have gotten past page 50. ( )

Beautiful story of friendship two women. One young and the other older.Both had grief to deal with. Background beautiful scandinavian country I think over two seasons. ( )

This is a story of two halves of one spirit finding one another. It is the story of a brief, yet transformative, relationship. Astrid, and elderly, isolated soul meets her new neighbor, Veronika, a devastated and wandering soul. It is the sharing of each others' wounds and loves which transform both of their lives. The themes in this book include: love, friendship, transformation, sharing, confessing, forgiving, and accepting. Absolutely lovely. It receives four rather than five stars because it is just a smidgeon too contrived. ( )

In a wintry landscape in the Swedish countryside, the paths of two women cross. One bleak March evening Veronika, a young writer, arrives in a small village in pursuit of stillness and solitude to enable her to come to terms with grief and loss, and to complete a novel. Her arrival is silently observed by Astrid, her elderly, reclusive neighbour, who in the safety of her home guards dark family secrets and personal tragedy. As the icy winter gives way to spring, the two women are drawn together. Against a backdrop of changing seasons, they embark on a tender and unusual friendship. What happens will change the lives of both women for ever. This is just a delicate and beautiful book!

Veronika, in search of ... something, temporarily moves into the house next door to Astrid, an aging farm wife, known to the village as a witch. Through silence and loneliness, a friendship forms despite their differences in age and experience. Both have suffered tragically from loss of love. Astrid chose to lock herself away, in a loveless marriage, in her home. Veronika seeks to heal. ( )

Many reviewers have talked about what a quiet or serene book this is, and I'd agree. There is such an understated flow, but I found it very powerful and it affected me more emotionally than most books do. While the lessons about love and loss and needing others may seem cliche, they rang very true for me, particularly as I was also reading Bowling Alone at the same time, a disturbing sociological look at the loss of community in the US (I see parallels in Canada). ( )

What a gem. I didn't want this book to end, but even the ending was perfect.

Linda Olsson has written a small novel of amazing depth and beauty. Things are described in simple yet profound ways, much in the same style as the conversation between the two characters. Both Astrid and Veronika are in pain, and both thought that isolation was the only way of dealing with it. When they find each other, though, a similar chord is struck in each and they piece together a friendship and trust slowly and methodically. Each has a story to tell which comes out slowly and in small bits, and each story will break your heart. But each story also makes each woman who she is--strong, loving and beautiful.

This is a book about connection and transformation. It is beautifully written and will stay with me forever. ( )

While I was not quite as enamoured of the story as some readers have been, Olsson's writing is lovely, evocative, and perfect for this novel. It is the story of two women, both hiding from painful incidents in their past, one old, one young. Astrid is a recluse, sometimes called a witch; Veronika, her new neighbor, has arrived with few possessions and the intention of shutting herself away to finish a book (and to avoid society). Their friendship grows quietly, slowly, lovingly.

The book's messages are a bit cliche. No man (or woman) is an island. All you need is love. Love never dies. But some cliches may ring true.

Olsson's spare style neverthless succeeds in depicting place and the senses more effectively than I've experienced in awhile. The grey cold of a Swedish winter. The taste of warm berries in early summer and wild mushrooms in late fall. The green scent of a forest in the rain. The immediate emptiness of loss. ( )

This was a delightful, frothy story about two women who spend a summer telling each other everything that they had been holding secret.
While some of the events should have been deeply disturbing, the soft focus dulled the effect. ( )

Astrid and Veronika is a story of friendship and its power to change lives. Astrid is a reclusive older woman, known as “the witch” by locals in her remote Swedish village. Veronika, a young woman mourning the loss of a loved one, moves into the house directly across the street from Astrid. It takes a long time for the two to meet face-to-face; at first Veronika simply waves at the house as she passes on her daily walk, not sure whether she is even noticed. Their initial meeting is a tentative encounter, but sows the seeds of a friendship develops over the course of the novel.

The two women spend a lot of their time together on walks, or having dinner. And as is the case with most female friendships, they spend a lot of time talking. They begin sharing their personal stories; Veronika has spent her life searching for love and a sense of place; Astrid’s life has been solitary, full of loss and devoid of love. Entire chapters are devoted to one woman recounting a significant event in her life. I experienced Astrid and Veronika as an audiobook, and this format worked quite well, especially for the “storytelling” chapters where it felt as if I were right there at the kitchen table with them.

Linda Olsson’s language is quite deliberate. She provides tremendous detail in setting each scene. The simplest acts are embellished with visual details. For example, where one author might write, “She sat down on the grass,” Olsson would write something like, “She sat down on the grass, her legs stretched out in front of her, hands folded in her lap.” This same technique was used time and again, whether the women were sitting, standing, walking, driving, cooking, etc. This resulted in some repetition: Astrid seemed to fold her hands across her chest a lot; Veronika was often naked in front of a mirror!

While it’s clear that Olsson wants the reader to see how the friendship changed the lives of both women, Veronika’s impact on Astrid came across more clearly than Astrid’s influence on Veronika. Veronika seemed a bit shallow throughout. Nevertheless, I found this a poignant and beautiful story that I can easily recommend to others. ( )

To me, reading this book was like floating in the serene calm of a warm bath... It slowly eases you in making you feel all wam and clean and you come out feeling renewed and refreshed... One of my favorites!! ( )

This was such a sweet story. ( )