The Weather Changed, Summer Came and So On
Pedro Carmona-Alvarez
Original title: Og været skiftet og det ble sommer og så videre
Publisher: Kolon forlag, 2012
Pages: 232 pages
Johnny is from New Jersey, and Kari is from Oslo. They meet in New York in the late 1950s and soon fall in love, get married, and move to Asbury Park, where their life unfolds like a dream: Kari gives birth to two beautiful daughters, and Johnny is a wildly successful entrepreneur. Everything begins to unravel, though, when Johnny’s business partner commits suicide and their company plunges into bankruptcy. Then a deadly accident claims their daughters. Reeling from the tragedy and seeking a new beginning, Johnny and Kari move to Norway. But they can’t escape their trauma as it continues to take a toll on their marriage, especially as Johnny struggles to find his place in a foreign country.
The Weather Changed, Summer Came and So On is a haunting novel about love, loss, and identity that focuses on the survival of trauma. Translated beautifully from its original Norwegian by Diane Oatley, it constructs and inhabits a liminal world as the protagonists seek to stay afloat amid grief and estrangement. This is a gripping, heartbreaking story that will move readers with its timelessness and universal relevance.
Foreign rights
Czech: Dybbuk
Danish; Turbine
Dutch: Uitgeverij Oevers
English: Seagull Books
German: Open House Verlag
Turkish: Miklagard World
Awards
The Cappelen Prize, 2004
The Sult Prize, 2005
The Norwegian Poetry Book Club Prize, 2005
P2-Radio Listerners Novel Prize 2012
Shortlisted for The Norwegian Bookseller’s Prize 2012
Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2017
The Triztan Vindtorn’s Poetry Prize 2022