Ashley Haynes
Rune Christiansen, THE LONELINESS IN LYDIA ERNEMAN’S LIFE.
Trans. Kari Dickson. Toronto: Book*hug Press, 2023. $23.00.
The Loneliness in Lydia Erneman’s Life takes the reader on a journey through the seemingly-ordinary experiences of a woman as she builds a life for herself in Norway. The chapters are composed in short, vignetted moments as Lydia, a vet, makes difficult, but common, decisions at work, or as she visits her aging parents in Northern Sweden. Each moment cradles the everyday choices of an average person as she goes about her life, yet there is something universally relatable in each chapter, such as the struggle to stay connected with people, coming to terms with the death of a loved one, or moving forward through decisions at work that may be difficult or unpopular.
Christiansen uses the lonely spaces in Lydia’s life to give readers insight into the moments that most people take for granted. Each sentence is beautifully written and read with ease. The work flows like a gentle river, and often strikes nostalgic or melancholic tones throughout.
I loved bearing witness to Lydia’s budding friendship with the young boy who comes to her for help, or her complex and sometimes troubled relationship with her father. These characters interact with Lydia in a very realistic way. To clarify, many books tend to focus on plot and the order of things, and how one interaction directly impacts the next one. In Christiansen’s work the interactions are sometimes left unresolved, which is something that often happens in reality. People come and go, oftentimes without warning, and reading a book that truly understood that and portrayed it was quite refreshing. It reminded me that life goes on, and that not everything gets tied up with neat little bows. Sometimes life is lonely, or empty, or maybe too full, and other times life simply changes and what was wanted one minute is forgotten the next.
While reading The Loneliness in Lydia Erneman’s Life I noticed that, while Lydia leads a life that many would consider lonely, she is not unhappy. Of course, there are moments of reflection where she yearns for connection, or to rekindle relationships that have been ignored for too long, or of wanting to spend time with a loved one who has passed away, but these moments never drag her down for long. Lydia is a strong woman who cherishes her independence, but who also recognizes when she has been missing out. When her friendship with young Johan develops, she has the realization that maybe she does want more than to just be single her whole life. These quiet moments of growth are spread throughout the novel in a way that allows readers to grow with Lydia, and to realize that the people in their lives may not always be there— that every moment, even the difficult ones, are meant to be lived.
The Loneliness in Lydia Erneman’s Life is a book that gives the reader a chance to reflect on life and all the time in between the more memorable moments. I think this type of novel is especially important in a world that is always so busy. Learning to recognize the loneliness in the everyday, and learning to not let it pull you down, is something that I wholeheartedly believe is a skill that we all would benefit from knowing; I will return to the simple beauty and comfort of this book when life gets too busy, too demanding, or when the illusion of emptiness starts to form in the corners of my own reality. The Loneliness in Lydia Erneman’s Life speaks to readers and seems to say: live in every moment of every day, because loneliness does not mean that life is empty or dull.
Ashley haynes
is a fourth-year student in the Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College. Her interests include photography, art, nature, and dystopian literature. She enjoys books and films that require her to think critically. Ashley has had ten short stories and two poems published with Polar Expressions Publishing, two of which received honourable mentions for placing among the top ten. Currently, Ashley serves as the Event & Communications intern for The Ampersand Review, where she strives to help build up the community that she loves.