Book of the year, Aftenposten
One of the 10 best books of 2023, Adresseavisen
“An intense study of the tension between a father and a son, portrayed as a journey towards a mountain top they never quite reach. Ramslie writes sparingly and sharply, focused and touching, managing to convey love amidst the chaos.”
Jon Rognlien, Dagbladet, 3 best books of 2023
“A long-awaited return. Lars Ramslie has an exclusive and unpredictable body of work as an author. The pulse quickens when one gets a new book of his in their hands.”
Aftenposten, the best book of 2023
“Profound and moving father’s story about all the relentless things that can be done with care and love.”
Margunn Vikingstad, Morgenbladet, the 3 best books of 2023
“A modern variation on a classic father-son drama. Prose with a pulse that would terrify your general practitioner. Refreshingly un-well-written.”
Geir Pollen, Klassekampen, the 3 best books of 2023
“Ramslie has finally reached the eye of the hurricane … a stunningly talented, deeply moving work, as truly weighty books should be.”
6/6 stars
Jon Rognlien, Dagbladet
“[…] an intensity that takes your breath away. A large part of the story is about a hike towards a mountain top, through forests and marshes – and if you’re not sweaty before surrendering to this description, you will certainly be. The Mountain, the Gun, the Lake is perhaps the most heart-wrenching story of love and betrayal I have ever read.”
Turid Larsen, Dagsavisen
“This is an extremely powerful portrait of a gifted man with a strongly developed ability to destroy himself and others. That the portrait is nevertheless so overwhelming and warm says something about the boundary-breaking forces that can be drawn out of both literature and love.”
Marta Norheim, NRK
“Ramslie returns to the story of his father from his debut novel. A moving retrospective tenderness makes this year’s version a highlight of his career … showcases the devastating pain of neglect … his best work.”
Carina Elisabeth Beddari, Morgenbladet
“The heart rate increases when you get a new Lars Ramslie novel in your hands … a merciless portrait of a man without restraint control who has no idea how to be a father. And a moving description of a boy who takes in the world with wide-open senses … It’s a novel I’ve been waiting for, published by an author with a very special gift for language.”
Anne Merethe K. Prinos, Aftenposten
“Ramslie’s eighth novel returns to his roots with an intense portrayal of a father who tries and fails, and a son who just wants him to stay with him … a gripping portrait of a father … Ramslie conveys the child’s unconditional love in a painfully convincing way.”
Sigrid Elise Strømmen, Vårt Land
“A tender and delicate reckoning with a father… the finished novel carries something urgent and immediate within it, an inner pressure that gives the text a touch of necessary release… Ramslie’s eighth novel throbs with a childlike vulnerability bursting with love.”
Leif Bull, Dagens Næringsliv
“A deeply personal and broadly universal story about a father who is difficult to love… This powerful, poetic, raw, and heartfelt novel revolves around a few hours in the life of the narrator, nine-year-old Lars, as he goes on a hike with his father… The chaos of emotions swirling inside the mind of nine-year-old Lars is vividly conveyed.”
6/6 stars
Ole Jakob Hoel, Adresseavisen
