The Gradual Disappearance of Jane Ashland – Nicolai Houm (Translated by Anna Paterson)

The story starts with a woman (Jane Ashland) waking up in a tent in the Norwegian mountains. Outside a storm is battering the bleak landscape and Jane believes she is about to die. The Gradual Disappearance of Jane Ashland by Nicolai Houm (translated by Anna Paterson) is a gripping and compelling story of a woman who flies to Norway to see relatives. But how did Jane Ashland get to be here and alone.

Jane has now found herself alone in a bleak landscape in a tent with no food or water, she has no idea of where she is or how she got here. This is a powerful story that is under 200 pages that I found very difficult to leave. A story that just grabbed hold of my senses and refused to let go until I have finished the last page.

I love a story about leading central character and is just them and here is the perfect example. Told in flashbacks through her life. It turns out that Jane is a wounded soul, damaged by drink and prescription drugs. Yet there is the part of a flashback that Jane was studying literature and her relationships while she was in the States. Over time she tried to reach out to her relatives in Norway, but you always fear there are storm cloud just on the horizon in Janes life and then they hit. Like the mountainous landscape Jane has found herself in, this is a rugged and raw novel. It is bleak and chilling.

What I found through this novel is how incredible Nicolai Houm just little by little feed the reader with details of Jane’s life leaving you with a sense on always wondering about Jane. Reading this I found was like a drug, addictive and once in you wanted more and more. This is stunning piece of writing with complex threads. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 192 Pages.

Thank you to Pushkin Press for the review copy of The Gradual Disappearance of Jane Ashland.

The Gradual Disappearance of Jane Ashland is published by Pushkin Press and was published on 26^th April 2018 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.