Will and Testament – Vigdis Hjorth

A very powerful and interesting novel which sparked a lot of debate in Norway. Family horrors of the past are brought up as an inheritance case is being processed. Is Vigdis Hjorth perhaps writing about her own family? The book shows how difficult it can be to decide who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. And who owns the true story of ones own family?

“Four siblings. Two summer houses. One terrible secret. To what degree should the horrors of the past be allowed to shake the present? Stalked by the darkest of shadows from her childhood, a woman struggles against the tide dragging her back to the family she fled years ago. This emotionally searing novel is at once a wrenching look at a family fractured and a meditation on the nature of trauma and memory.”