{"product_id":"bell-in-the-lake-1-sister-bells-trilogy","title":"Bell in the Lake","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eLove, suspense, nature and superstition are woven together in this powerful novel\" MAJA LUNDE, author of \u003ci\u003eThe History of Bees\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Lars Mytting writes with an insight, empathy and integrity few others can match\" JO NESBØ\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"An exquisitely atmospheric novel . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Bell in the Lake\u003c\/i\u003e does what fiction promises: to steal you away to another world and ask you, if unfairly, to leave a little of your heart behind\" DEREK B. MILLER, author of \u003ci\u003eNorwegian by Night\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Lyrical, melancholy and with beautifully drawn characters, this pitches old beliefs against new ways with a haunting delicacy that rings true.\" DAILY MAIL\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTHE TIMES' \"Historical Fiction Book of the Month\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe first in a rich historical trilogy that draws on legend, by a literary craftsman and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sixteen Trees of the Somme\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Norway, 1880. Winter is hard in Butangen, a village secluded at the end of a valley. The lake has frozen, and for months the ground is too hard to bury the dead. Astrid Hekne dreams of a life beyond all this, beyond marriage, children, and working the land to the end of her days. Then Pastor Kai Schweigaard takes over the small parish, with its 700-year-old stave church carved with pagan deities. The two bells in the tower were forged by Astrid's forefather in the sixteenth century, in memory of conjoined twins Halfrid and Gunhild Hekne. They are said to hold supernatural powers.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The villagers are wary of the pastor and his resolve to do away with their centuries-old traditions, though Astrid also finds herself drawn to him. And then a stranger arrives from Dresden, with grand plans for the church itself. For headstrong Astrid this may be a provocation too far.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Talented architecture student Gerhard Schönauer is an improbable figure in this rugged community. Astrid has never met anyone like him; he seems so different, so sensitive. She finds that she must make a choice: for her homeland and the pastor, or for an uncertain future in Germany.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Then the bells begin to ring . . .\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTranslated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Deborah Dawkin originally trained in theatre at Drama Centre, London, before turning to translation. Her translations include \u003ci\u003eThe Blue\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eRoom\u003c\/i\u003e by Hanne Ørstavik and \u003ci\u003eBuzz Aldrin: What Happened to You in All the Confusion\u003c\/i\u003e by Johan Harstad, shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Awards in 2012. She is the co-translator of eight plays by Ibsen for Penguin Classics.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eWith the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unity Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44141644906693,"sku":null,"price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0625\/6679\/3413\/files\/The_20Bell_20in_20the_20Lake.jpg?v=1728864609","url":"https:\/\/unitybooks.myshopify.com\/products\/bell-in-the-lake-1-sister-bells-trilogy","provider":"Unity Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}