Coconats • read

(Note: This was part of a reading challenge). The book contains pages of small but connected poems in relation to the author's Kven identity and its remnants within present Norway. Its theme is conveyed a lot through nature, animals and the contrast between the shadows and the light. While written mostly in Norwegian, some contain at least one Kven word. For my first read, I decided not to refer to the dictionary or a translator when it came to refreshing myself on some Norwegian words. But despite this small hindrance, I was nonetheless immersed into the bodymind experience of longing for that connection to one's identity while also feeling estranged by it as is expressed in the book. As much as I could at least - I can only sympathise. Two of many excerpts that stood out to me: "den sure sannheten blir trukket som råte fra et sår ut i dagen, det er ikke for sent selv om det er vondt tornen i strupen sitter dypt men barnefingre, tynne og følsomme kan nå langt nok inn for å grave den fram" --- p.29 "grenseland, igjen skyttergrav, men jeg vet ikke om det er bare denne eller om det ligger en annen gigur, krøket på andre siden av gjørmesletta - et meg som har trukket våpen og tror jeg må dø" --- p. 31