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Loading... Touchby Olaf Olafsson
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. It should be said that Olafsson is one of my favorite authors and I have read everything he has written that is in English. He writes intimate, empathetic stories which plumb the depths of the human soul (while keeping the books relatively short). Touch is a mere 259 pages and sells the story of an older man, Kristofer, whose memory is failing. While attempting to deal with his health issues, he receives a communication from Japan – an old girlfriend he dated back in the 60s when they were both students in London. He has mixed of feelings but decides to fly to Japan to see her…. This is a story of the past, the present, love, regret, and myster no reviews | add a review
A mesmerizing, panoramic story of one man's search to find a lover who suddenly disappeared decades before When the pandemic hits, Kristofer is forced to shutter his successful restaurant in Reykjavik, sending him into a spiral of uncertainty, even as his memory seems to be failing. But an uncanny bolt from the blue--a message from Miko Nakamura, a woman whom he'd known in the sixties when they were students in London--both inspires and rattles him, as he is drawn inexorably back into a love story that has marked him for life. Even as the pandemic upends his world, Kristofer finds himself pulled toward an answer to the mystery of Miko's sudden departure decades before, compelling him to travel to London and Japan as the virus threatens to shut everything down. A heart-wrenching love story and an absorbing mystery, Touch delves into the secrets of the past to explore the hidden lives that we all possess, the pain and beauty of our past loves and friendships that continue to leave their mark on us. Searching and lyrically rendered by acclaimed author Olaf Olafsson, Touch is a stunning tribute to the weight of history and the complexities of the human heart. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)839.6934Literature German and related languages Other Germanic literatures Old Norse, Old Icelandic, Icelandic, Faroese literatures Modern West Scandinavian; Modern Icelandic Modern Icelandic fiction 1900-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The author writes in an elegant, yet understated manner. We get to know the protagonist in two stages of life – his youth when in love with Miko, and his later life as he travels to attempt to reconnect with her. They had kept their relationship a secret from her father, and Miko and her father had disappeared suddenly for reasons unknown to Kristófer.
The primary theme is memory, loss of it, gaps in it, and how people remember the same events differently. The narrative is driven by the quest to find Miko and the unveiling of the reason behind her sudden disappearance all those years ago. The tone is wistful. It is not for anyone looking for “action.” It is for those who like quiet novels with emphasis on deeply drawn believable characters and their thoughts. ( )