”To great effect Kristensen tells the story of a woman who loses all her feeling of security in a moment. … Firstly the author succeeds with a few hints to show that her suffering heroine was perhaps living in one great illusion of love … and secondly even though life doesn’t work like it does in the movies, she doesn’t leave the reader disappointed after finishing the book.”
Deutschland Radio Kultur, Germany
“An inner monologue in fascinatingly precise prose”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany
“With a fine sense of life’s adversities the writer Mirjam Kristensen lets us join a search which in a unique way touches deep emotions … Even though the novel doesn’t pretend to be a crime novel, it exhibits the best hallmarks of a psychological thriller. With suspense and empathy we follow a woman about to go crazy from self doubt … Excellently composed and well translated, the novel all in all offers suspense and entertainment with convincing substance.”
bookreporter.de, Germany
”Subdued and rather like a thriller, though young Kristiansen’s book is no mere thriller. But there is something really thrilling about the way she manages to keep her readers glued for 218 pages. Difficult to put down. You just have to find out what’s coming next. An Afternoon in Autumn is Mirjam Kristensen’s third novel… and confims this extremely talented storyteller’s position. Mirjam Kristiansen is a writer who has something important to get off her chest … Mirjam Kristensen splendidly portrays Rakel’s inner development”
5/6 stars, Fædrelandsvennen
”What Mirjam Kristensen has mastered, apart from almost annoyingly clear prose, is not to give us one true explanation; she has faith in her reader’s ability to share Rakel’s tumbling through the unknown”
Nordlys
”Fine balance … in her new novel, Mirjam Kristensen shows us her command of beautiful, sensitive language … Her two novels have proved she has mastered an unusually sensitive style. Kristensen’s language is sobre and minimalistic, no floridity or pompous metaphors, yet she uses repetition effectively to imbue the story with a seductive power. This method is employed to great effect in this novel … This is a quiet, mature and original story – with one of the world’s greatest cities offering a threatening and all-enveloping backdrop”
Dagsavisen
”There is every reason to draw readers’ attention to this author’s third book … Loss and grief are central themes in Kristensen’s sobre but insistent prose … Mirjam Kristensen perceptively describes Rakel’s distress … Paul Auster is another name which springs to mind while reading An Afternoon in Autumn. Not just because of the depictions of New York and its citizens, but also because of the examination of who someone really is when it comes to the crunch, and the chance to let yourself go with the flow, make a choice and just disappear into the crowd. Mirjam Kristensen’s book is truly terrific, and will not just disappear into the crowd”
NRK
”Mirjam Kristensen won the Vesaas Prize in 2000 for her first novel, The Days are transparent. She still writes memorable novels … This novel describes the main character’s development as she comes to terms with the unthinkable happening, and she does it with a pared-down, concise and descriptive narrative, registering the turn of events, which then absorbs a carefully apportioned serving of simple, but effective images … The portrayal of several slightly bizarre secondary characters also functions as a part of a chain of tricks which create a rather queer atmosphere making An Afternoon in Autumn a memorable novel”
Aftenposten
”A well-tuned novel about losing someone. … The book’s strength lies in the way it is constructed around the ambiguous and contradictory. Rather craftily, every possible explanation for the husband’s disappearance is imbued with just enough credibility so it cannot be rejected out of hand. In this way, a glimmer of doubt is constantly maintained … a well-constructed story, told with natural, more assured language. The novel is just as multifarious and ambiguous as a good novel should be”
Dagbladet
”A captivating novel. Mirjam Kristensen demonstrates a special ability to grip the reader in her latest novel. You won’. l t want to put it down. You just have to keep reading to see what happens … Mirjam Kristensen’s storytelling gets you hooked – you want to read on and on”
Farsunds Avis
”Mirjam Kristensen has written a real page-turner about crying and sleeping. Impressive stuff. Good prose. Not just good, but at times terrifically good … We get a taste of something magical, and something which is thrillingly inexplicable and puzzling. Kristensen paints a picture which is so good, so natural and alive that she manages to make Rakel’s inner thoughts more important than the external moments of tension … Impressive how Kristensen throughout creates small moments of tension, possible actions and turning points which break with the reporting of Rakel’s inner despair … The novel constantly works against itself, flaunting your expectations to create constructive frustration in the reader. The focus then shifts to the language. The concise, elegant prose almost forces the reader to show an interest in Rakel and Rakel alone …. l It is great that Kristensen secures her position as a novelist. She shows a mastery of language which reveals people’s inner emotional workings better than authors of literature whose sole aim is to entertain. This is why this novel both deserves and demands attention in this autumn’s run of new books”
Morgenbladet
”A concise, well written novel about finding oneself in an extreme situation … Kristensen has an impressive eye for the small but telling details … An Afternoon in Autumn is an unusually well-composed novel”
Bergens Tidende
”It is not hard to share [Rakel’s] fear and struggle with her own sense; the question that the author brings forward is almost uncomfortable to ask oneself… The story is almost like a thriller, and it’s hard to put down…The author raises a lot of questions and challenges by leaving a lot to the reader’s imagination… Both read-worthy and thought-evoking”
Fredriksstad Blad
