In the Month of the Midnight Sun

This time the dedicated TIC book club members ventured in the rain to a nearby village of Alphen to discuss a piece of Scandinavian noir, “In the month of the midnight sun” by Cecilia Ekbäck. Joined by some new faces, the book clubbers were eager to go over their reading experiences. Luckily most had finished the book, because it was impossible to avoid spoilers about the surprising plot twists in the last quarter of the book!

Although our meeting took place a couple of days before the above mentioned month, the book had transferred us all into the northern magical summer, where sun barely sets and spirits roam wild. The story was situated in Sweden in the year 1856, and the author had taken great care to transport the reader to rural Lapland and describe what the life was like back then for the ordinary dwellers. Historical facts aside, we found the inner thoughts and interactions of the various people in the book the most captivating part in the flow of the text. According to the author’s commentary, the three main characters were all lost in their own way. We speculated whether they found what they were looking for, and how the societal change of industrialization and the first wave of feminism might have caused them to feel adrift. The story was skillfully wrapped around these themes and the interesting characters, but at its core, it remained a page-turner of a murder mystery. Although the book was not for everyone, most of us would recommend the book as a mystical and entertaining summer read!

Inspired by our ever-improving snack selection, thematically our next book is a culinary thriller from Japan, a book called “Butter” by Asako Yusuki. Happy reading under the midnight sun and see you after summer! Remember, beware of the deceitful spirits of the warm summer nights…