“Feeling someone else’s heartbeat and thinking it’s your own, you can’t get any closer than that.”

This is a very quiet, beautifully written novel about Helmer and his twin brother Henk, and how life sometimes goes in a different direction than expected. It reminds me of Olive Kitteridge in some ways, certainly of Strout’s spare, yet simple prose. The story is equal parts hopeful and sad, about ordinary people living their lives, playing out the hand they are dealt. Every time I sat down with this I was transported straight to Helmers farm, to that bleak Dutch landscape. This is about luck, and trauma, about families and neighbours, about being seen and feeling isolated, and about figuring out how to stay true to yourself. Or in fact, how to even know what that means.

“Hooded crows glide above the cliff. They hold their wings still and float on the updrafts without moving forward.”