The Weather Changed, Summer Came and So On

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

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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

This tragic novel follows the traumas and joys of a family torn apart by the death of two daughters, as seen through the eyes of the third daughter, who arrives after this devastating event. She beautifully relates the pain, doubt, and confusion of her parents’ attempts to recover and progress—and her own development and difficulty finding her identity—in an environment where love is conflated with so much grief.

World Literature Today

Shattering grief, a young person’s ability to manage everything and the power of the feeling of alienation. Pedro Carmona-Alvarez’ novel The weather changed, summer came and so on has all of this … a great success.

NRK

A beautiful and riveting story about lifelong grief and the life-giving power of music. Pedro Carmona-Alvarez’s latest novel impresses and titillates: hopefully the sequel is right around the corner! 5/ 6 stars

VG

Pedro Carmona-Alvarez

Pedro Carmona-Alvarez was born in La Serena, Chile in 1972. At the age of ten, he and his family fled to Argentina, and the family later moved to Norway. He made his debut with a collection of poetry in 1997, and has since published several award-winning books. The Weather Changed, Summer Came and So On was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award in 2017.

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Other titles by Pedro Carmona-Alvarez

Rust

Pedro Carmona-Alvarez

2009
Chiquitita

Pedro Carmona-Alvarez

2023