The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann

Published by Other Press on April 8, 2014

Jon Dreyer is a blocked writer living in Oslo but summering in a house called Mailund. He is married to Siri Brodal, who has hired a girl named Milla to look after their two daughters, Alma and Liv. At thirteen, Alma has done some babysitting of her own for a boy named Simen who lives nearby. Siri's mother, Jenny Brodal, owns Mailund, where Siri grew up. Siri's second restaurant is nearby in the seaside community.

The Dreyer-Brodals are a dysfunctional family on steroids, a family falling apart. Early in the story, the reader knows that Jenny has a dark history, that Siri feels responsible for a drowning that occurred during her childhood, that Jon is working his way through all of the deadly sins instead of writing, and that Alma is mean and spiteful. We know that Jenny's friend Irma, a large woman who plays the role of caretaker, is unpleasant and controlling. We know little about Milla, except that she seems to crave Jon's attention. We know that the family's disobedient dog is "every dog's revenge on mankind." Welcome to Norway, land of the terminally depressed.

As The Cold Song opens, a celebration of Jenny's 75th birthday is about to take place. Jenny, who would prefer not to attend, is preparing for the event by breaking 20 years of sobriety. The story reveals snapshots of that day, then backs away to fill in scenes from the past and from the future. The reader knows, because it is one of the novel's first scenes, that two years after the party, Simen will find Milla's body buried beneath a tree. What the reader does not know is how or why Milla died. That becomes the mystery that drives the story.

Much of the novel is a history of the characters' relationships, illuminated by key scenes. Their feelings for each other are complex and always changing. We see who they are and who they pretend to be. We watch them in the present as they try to cope with their pasts. We experience Jon's untethered existence and Siri's irrational anger. As the marriage of Jon and Siri curdles, as their daughter becomes distant and uncontrollable, we feel their frustration and resignation. The story is deeply introspective, taking the reader into the depths of Jon's mind and, to a lesser extent, into the minds of other characters.

Many readers dislike books about unlikable characters. Those readers should probably avoid The Cold Song, as should readers who are looking for life-affirming stories. The characters are compelling but you would not want them as friends. Few of the characters (including Milla's parents after her death) behave admirably. Still, The Cold Song sheds light on personalities that are familiar to us all, and on characteristics that (hopefully to a lesser extent) we all share.

The Cold Song is not by any means a conventional mystery novel but it doesn't pretend to be an Agatha Christie or a thriller. This is a story about how events shape people. The last quarter of the novel isn't as tight as the first three-quarters -- it doesn't advance as briskly -- and the ambiguous ending comes as an anti-climax given the prolonged setup, although the last couple of paragraphs offer a glimpse of redemption and healing that is missing from the rest of the narrative. The reader is required to fill in some gaps (or is left wondering about certain events) but that is the nature of life. Linn Ullman dissects the lives of her characters in prose that is is as sharp and sparkling as crystalline ice. That is reason enough to read this disturbing, insightful novel.

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