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Description edit
Plagued by dreams of her dead father, Katrina Nielsen returns to her native Denmark to face the ghosts of her past. After seven years in New York, sidelined by a career-ending injury, Katrina is determined to reunite her shattered family. But when she and her American husband, Richard,... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Katrina Nielsen: Danish ballet dancer who returns home to Denmark after a career-ending injury in New York Plagued by dreams of her dead father
- Richard Marchese: Katrina's husband. Born in Queens, Italian Catholic background. Financial advisor on Wall Street who moves to Denmark at the request of his wife, who want to reunite with her mother and brother in Copenhagen
- Søren Jensen: Local pharmacist and next-door neighbor on Rosenborgs Allè. About 40 years old, has lived on the street most of his life. Single, bookish, lithe. Into gardening, wine and gourmet food.
- Edvard I. Frankl: German Jewish psychiatrist who has lived in Denmark entire adult life. Atheistic and existentialist in his beliefs - skeptical of hauintings in the extreme. Friend of Richard's (now-deceased) father for many years, starting during WW II.
- Rowena: Add a description of this character.
- Annika
- George
- Niels Dahl
- Mette
- Karl Damsgaard
- Richie
- Peder
- Michael
- Agnete
- Hans
- Ingrid
- Michal
- Knud
- Eddé
- Vinnie
- Holger
- Jibril
- Frau Müller
- Gerda
- Goebbels
- Mary
- Justesen
Quotes edit
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“From the beginning I knew that Katrina and I would be very happy together in Sound House”
Richard Marchese -
“And so it goes. For actions taken in their dotage, Nobel, the war-profiteer, is remembered as a humanitarian; Hamsun, the peaceful writer, as a Nazi. For every Bell there is a Nobel. And Old Hamsun is dancing with Goebbels.”
Katrina Nielsen -
“"Life passes slowly in here," (the realtor, Dahl) said. A block in, gas-powered streetlamps appeared, marking our passage into the realm of Swan Mill, a buttoned-up neighborhood of trim lawns, high hedges and walled gardens. The first block was dominated by juniper and cypress, and then an arcade of plane and poplar trees grew up around us, their light-green spring foliage blocking out the sky. Even though it was still afternoon, the gaslights flickered like stars twinkling in the woody firmament. Halfway down the last block before the coast road, Dahl pulled over and cut the engine. Raising his steel-wooly eyebrows, he bared his unnaturally white upper teeth and said, "We're here!"”
Richard Marchese -
“But for all this, it was neither her face nor her raiment that made me put down my coffee cup. It was the way she moved. She moved with a grace that one normally observes only at the cinema: Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, women of a previous era. Yet unlike the painted ladies of Hollywood, this maiden's beauty required no artifice, no tricks.”
Søren Jensen
Setting & Locations edit
Almost all the action of the book takes places in Copenhagen, specifically the neighborhood of Svanemølle, which is the first area of houses (as opposed to apartments) as one goes north from the center. A few scenes in the middle take place in Skagen on Jutland (also in Denmark); and the very end takes place in Hellrup, a suburb just north of Copenhagen.
- Svanemølle: An upscale, coast-hugging neighborhood in Copenhagen, the neighborhood of Svanemølle is the first area of houses (as opposed to apartments) as one goes north from the center.
- Denmark
- New York
- Copenhagen
- Skagen
- Angelina
- Skat
- Europe
- Germany
- Jutland
- Hellerup
- England
- France
- Paris
- Berlin
- Vendsyssel
- Flensburg
- America
- Bangsbo Museum
- Manhattan
- Italy
- Rosenborgs Allé
Organizations edit
- Dansk Folkeparti (Danish People's Party): Right-wing party in Denmark, formed in the mid-90s and currently holding over 20% of the vote. A supporting member of the ruling coalition since 2001, DF has pushed immigration to center-stage, and relentlessly works to limit immigration, and insofar as possible, to get "new Danes" to leave the country. For example, one law forbids Danes under 24 to marry foreigners, forcing in many young couples to live just over the border in Sweden.
First Sentence edit
Emergency lights glowed cobalt blue in the grainy atmosphere of the corridor.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Crescent Varrone (Author)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813
Subjects edit
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