The Land of Dreams (Minnesota Trilogy)
Page 33
“Oh, these old knees of mine,” she sighed.
“Should we turn around and go back?”
“Let me think about it.” She leaned one hand on the car. “My goodness, it’s so wonderful to get out for a drive,” she said.
The lake spread out before them like an ocean. The sun had broken through the cloud cover. The vast body of water glittered. A slope led down from the rest area to the lake. Lance now noticed that a man was sitting down there, right at the water’s edge. He recognized him at once. That hat and jacket were unmistakable.
Lance cast a glance at his mother to see if she’d noticed anything, but she was just standing there, gazing out at the lake. A gust of wind ruffled a few thin locks of her hair. Lance again looked down at the dark-clad figure. He could clearly see that the back of his jacket was shiny with age and that the brim of his hat drooped, as if it had lain in the water for a long time.
“It’s strange,” said Inga. “I’ve lived my whole life near the lake, but it’s only seldom that I actually . . . notice it.”
“Uh-huh,” said Lance without taking his eyes off the figure.
He was looking at the man from the back. He seemed to be leaning forward, with his knees drawn up to his chin. Lance knew who he was. Maybe he’d known all along. He just hoped that the man wouldn’t turn around and look at him, the way he’d done near the lighthouse in Grand Marais. He was afraid of meeting the man’s eyes again. And yet, he was certain that it would happen. If not now, then another time. If not here, then somewhere else on the lake.
This is just the beginning, he thought.
VIDAR SUNDSTØL is the acclaimed Norwegian author of six novels, including the Minnesota Trilogy, written after he and his wife lived for two years on the shore of Lake Superior. The Land of Dreams was awarded the Riverton Prize for best Norwegian crime novel of the year in 2008, was nominated for the Glass Key for best Scandinavian crime novel of the year, and was ranked by Dagbladet as one of the top twenty-five Norwegian crime novels. The Minnesota Trilogy has been translated into eight languages and is the first of his works to be translated into English.
TIINA NUNNALLY is a translator of Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish literature. Her translation of Kristin Lavransdatter III: The Cross by Sigrid Undset won the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize, and her translation of Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow won the American Translators Association’s Lewis Galantière Prize. The Swedish Academy honored her for her contributions to “the introduction of Swedish culture abroad,” and she was appointed Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit for her efforts on behalf of Norwegian literature in the United States.
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About the Author