The Last Boat Home

(Paperback)

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A debut of immense emotional power- The Last Boat Home is an arresting, intriguing, deeply atmospheric novel by a rare new talent. Explosive, dark and tender, The Last Boat Home is a devastating novel about sacrifice, survival and a mother's love. If you loved The Light Between Oceans or The Snow Child, this is for you. On the wind-swept southern coast of Norway, sixteen-year-old Else is out on the icy sea, dragging her oars through the waves while, above her, storm clouds are gathering. Surrounded by mountains, snow and white-capped water, she looks across the fjord and dreams of another life, of escape and faraway lands. Back on shore, her father sits alone in his boathouse with a jar of homebrew. In the Best Room, her mother covers her bruises and seeks solace in prayer. Each tries to hide the truth from this isolated, God-fearing community they call home. Until one night changes everything. More than thirty years later, the return of an old friend forces Else to relive the events that marked the end of her childhood. Explosive, dark and tender, The Last Boat Home is a devastating novel about sacrifice, survival and a mother's love.

Reviews

The evocation of place is wonderful; the writing fresh, the storytelling assured Dea Brvig vividly conjures up this Norwegian community and its terrible secrets and repressions. The story builds up with quiet power... with every word necessary. -- Jill Dawson, author of * The Great Lover and Lucky Bunny *
Brvigs debut novel, with its eerie atmosphere will leave an indelible mark on anyone who reads it. * The Lady *
A dark, evocative novel that hinges on the cost and consequences of silence. The characters their passions and their predicaments stayed with me long after Id put the book down. -- Sarah Butler, author of * Ten Things I've Learnt About Love *
A finely-written debut, as eloquent about mothers and daughters as it is about men and women, with an immediacy to the writing that makes both time then and now and place a small Norwegian town fully realised and tangibly present. -- Stella Duffy
[An] atmospheric story ... An accomplished and moving debut that lingers long in the mind. * The Good Book Guide *

Author Bio

Dea Br vig moved to the UK from Norway at the age of 17. After graduating from Leeds University, she worked in publishing in London for eight years. She graduated from UEA's Creative Writing MA in 2009. The Last Boat Home is her first novel.