When a middle-aged Danish woman
learns how to drive, she gains greater insight into who she is and her place in
the world.
Sonya--unmarried, childless and in her 40s--is in a rut.
Her learning to drive forms the basis of Mirror, Shoulder, Signal,
a richly drawn novel by Danish author Dorthe
Nors (Karate
Chop) and translated
by Misha Hoekstra. Sonya has never felt at home in metropolitan Copenhagen.
She longs to return to the Jutland countryside, where she grew up--even more so
now that her beau, Paul, has dumped her for a 20-something. Sonya is burned out
in her job translating violent crime novels from Swedish into Danish. She suffers
spells of vertigo exacerbated by stress. And she can't seem to connect with her
sister, Kate, who is a happily married wife and mother with a "golden
retriever and a membership in a gymnastics and fitness club. She bakes kringles
and knits woolen stockings." Sonya is determined to conquer her fear of
driving. However, her inability to shift gears becomes a metaphor for change in
her life. And change is never easy--especially for someone as complicated and
lost as Sonya.
The loose plot of Nors's compact, minimalistic story--her
first novel to be released in English--is enlivened by flares of deadpan wit
and a well-developed cast of secondary characters: two male driving
instructors--abrupt Jytte and Folke, with whom Sonya flirts--and Ellen, an
outspoken massage therapist, who prods Sonya for being a "tight-ass"
with her feelings. Nors's exceptional writing and her insightful grasp on the
human condition bolster the heartbreak of Sonya's isolated, solitary existence.
Mirror, Shoulder, Signal: A Novel by Dorthe Nors (Translated by Misha Hoekstra)
Graywolf Press, $26.99, Hardcover, 9781555978082, 192 pages
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
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NOTE:
This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf
Awareness: Reader's Edition (July 6, 2018),
link HERE