This was a slow burning delight. I loved the rich, historical setting and the layers of detailing building as I read. It was entirely absorbing and I loved it.

An atmospheric novel set it the Norway of 1880s and in a place called Butangen which has little changed despite the changes in the rest of Europe, a place of myth and superstition. Astrid Hakne is descended from the family who had the Sister Bells added to the ancient Stave Church which was constructed 700 years before. Astrid wants to learn and is resisting the ways set for women in the community. Into the mix add a new pastor Kai Schweigaard who sees this place as full of strange pagan ways and with a church not fit for purpose. He is drawn to Astrid but has his dreams shattered when into the valley comes the artist and architect Gerhard Schönauer who is sent from the Saxon Court to arrange the dismantling of the Stave Church to take to Dresden. Astrid slowly falls for this modern man with his wonderful drawings who uses a dictionary to translate his words. This wonderful novel brings alive the mysterious world of the Norwegian valley and it is a symbol of the clash of ancient and modern plus the intervention of powers coming from the Bells themselves. Having lived in such a valley myself and studied these wonderful Stave Churches which are a marriage of paganism and Christianity I cannot wait to read the next book in the promised series.

I loved the author's first novel, The Sixteen Trees of the Somme, so I was excited to learn about his new book, The Bell in the Lake, especially since it is the first in a planned trilogy of historical novels. The book is translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin.

1880 is a time of change in the world. However, very little has changed in Butangen, or ever seems likely to. "The village was twenty years behind its neighbouring villages, which were thirty years behind Norway's towns and cities, which were fifty years behind the rest of Europe." That tension between old and new, change and tradition forms the heart of the novel.

For Astrid Hekne, with her 'restless mind', real life, as she sees it, is happening elsewhere. She finds it hard to accept the life path she seems expected to follow. "Tradition favoured girls with course hands who toiled silently as the grindstone turned, who gave birth without fuss..." In a way, Astrid represents the meeting point between the old and the new. Her keen intelligence tells her there is so much more to life, even if she's not quite sure what it is. "The only thing she knew was that she was searching for something, and that whatever it was, it was not in the village."

Initially, the new Pastor, Kai Schweigaard, seems to offer the chance of escape that Astrid is searching for. She trades information about the village with him in return for access to newspapers which she reads greedily, grabbing "the outside world with both hands." The attraction appears to be mutual. Rarely has the folding of a tablecloth been the source of such sexual tension. However, when Schweigaard's intentions for the old church and, more importantly, for the Sister Bells, become clear, Astrid's feelings change.

The arrival of Gerhard Schönauer to oversee the demolition of the church creates waves in a number of ways. For one, he is the first human being from the outside world Astrid has ever encountered. Furthermore, he recognizes the old church for the work of craftsmanship it is and its significance for the village, whereas Kai Schweigaard sees it only as a relic of a bygone age. A clash is inevitable and when it comes it has dramatic consequences.

Given the book is translated from another language, I found it interesting that a feature of the book is language and meaning - and its limitations. For example, Kai Schweigaard relies on Astrid Hekne to interpret for him the 'peculiarities' of the local people, especially when they are trying to outwit him. And Gerhard Schönauer's native language is German whereas Astrid's is Norwegian but using a dialect unique to the area in which certain words simply aren't in the vocabulary. "Love. This word, which did not exist in her dialect... She could show it, through loyalty and devotion, and through actions, but to say it was impossible." There are intimate scenes as Gerhard and Astrid teach each other words from their native languages - the word for lip, for love, for kiss.

I loved Astrid as a character for her independent spirit, resourcefulness and questioning mind. Faced with adversity, her response is to , "Collect herself with the same strength that the women before her had collected themselves, through avalanches and floods, tuberculosis and dysentery, frost-ruined harvests and barn fires."

At times, the novel has a fairy tale or fable like quality, especially in the opening section recounting the story of how the Sister Bells came to be cast. Overall, it an intriguing mix of myth and romance that explores the tension between the modern world and traditional ways and poses the question whether 'moving with the times' always brings about improvement and enlightenment.

Given events towards the end of the book, it will be interesting to see how the story unfolds in the next instalment in the trilogy.

Once you get to grips with the Scandinavian names in this engrossing book it is a very interesting read. Although it is set in the late 19th century the modern age had yet to arrive in inland Norway/Sweden. Travel was difficult, the people were fairly isolated and clung to centuries old beliefs as well as paying lip-service to the Christian church. Whilst this is essentially about a love triangle the novel offers so much more, the only thing being that you need to suspend belief at times. Astrid is a compelling heroine and her two "suitors" are quite different to each other. Recommended.

Astrid Hekne, a Norwegian village girl in the late 19th century, is drawn to the local pastor and his promise of learning, of worldly wisdom, of helping her reach beyond the little world she knows. But he is also a force of the modern world, seeking to replace the ancient beautiful stave church at the heart of her village with a modernised, more “Christian” building sans the pagan adornments. When a young German architect arrives, to study, draw and arrange for the careful removal of the stave church in order to have it rebuilt in his homeland, she is conflicted despite her attraction and growing connection to him, torn between her loyalty to her roots and protecting her heritage, and love. Beautiful, tender, and almost a Nordic fairy tale in its lyricism and mythology, imagery, you can almost taste the frost of its dark Scandinavian winters, and the charm of its warmer season, picture the quirk of the villagers and the long thread of their history. A tale of wonderful prose, of a clash of cultures, of ancient rite and modernisation, of pagan roots versus the modern church, the roots of home versus the search for a new life, it will stay with you for a long time. And if this won’t make you obsessively google stave churches, I don’t know what will.

Lars Mytting's delicate prose is to be enjoyed slowly, possibly stopping once in a while to reread a second time the most beautiful passages. The Bell in the Lake is an atmospheric novel, a subtle love story, an ode to Norwegian folklore, culture and landscapes. Its central character, Astrid Hekne, is both deeply human and mesmerising. Lars Mytting's new novel is one that leaves a lasting impression, and I'm certainly looking forward to read the second volume of this trilogy!

A wonderfully atmospheric historical novel set in Norway, one of my recent favourite settings. Perhaps a little too well written for my current state of mind, as I really cared about the characters and the beautiful descriptive language immersed me in the landscape to the point that I put the novel down for a few weeks as I was worried about the outcome and finding it all slightly bleak. I'm glad I picked it back up though, it was bittersweet but felt right, and I'd love to read the next planned two novels.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

In a remote village out in the wilds of Norway, there is a legend of a pair of conjoined twins who lived on the most prosperous farm in the area and were brilliant weavers. On their death, their father commissioned the production of two bells for the local stave church. Hundreds of years later and that stave church is about to be sold off to the people of Saxony in order to fund a new, more comfortable church. Astrid Hekne is a descendant of the sisters and despite her attraction to a German visitor also feels the pull of tradition and fears that the loss of the sister bells will harm the village.
This is a very gently tale which encompasses many big themes. The villagers are wary of strngers and do not want to see their church go, but they want to embrace comfort for themselves. The role of women is interesting, illegitimate births are not hidden and the women work hard but they are also more prone to folklore etc. This is a great story and very well-written/translated.

Lars Mytting has written a mesmerising novel in which the unlikely heroes are a 12th century Norwegian stave church and its "Sister Bells" the latter which have rung out sonorously over the remote village of Butangen for 700 years. Myth and folklore are embedded in the elaborate wood carvings of this old church and the bells were gifted by the Hekne family on the death of their conjoined daughters who spent their entire lives in the village. The bells' unique sound is attributed to the unique blend of bronze and silver used in their moulding.
Our story starts in 1882 with the arrival in Butangen of a youthful new pastor, Kai Schwergaard. This is his first parish and he is determined to successfully and speedily introduce big changes to this remote community. Unsurprisingly he soon hits problems but finds some support and comforting guidance from the 20year old Astrid - a descendant of the Hekne family who gifted the bells. Just as the community is coming to terms with the new pastor another young man, Gerhard - an architecture student from Dresden - appears in the village. Why is he here? All becomes clear when Kai announces, from the pulpit, that the church building and its bells have been sold to Germany to fund a new church being built on the site. Gerhard is to produce detailed drawings, oversee the demolition and then transport it to Dresden where it will be re-built.
And so the plot is set for this beautifully written tale to unfold. How shall the feisty Astrid relate to these two interesting young outsiders? How shall the worshippers react to their church being sold? How does a bell end up at the bottom the lake?
Mythology, love, tragedy, death and hope all feature strongly in Mytting's storyline but it is the image of the beautifully hand-carved woodwork in this little church, buried away in remotest Norway, that will stay with you long after you lay down the book. The wonderful descriptive writing effortlessly transports you to another century where you'll feel genuine sorrow as the church you've come to love is gradually demolished.
A brilliantly original and utterly captivating work.

Amazing story, amazing writing that really draws you in and you can't put this book down. I absolutely loved it!

Thanks a lot to the publisher and NG for this copy.

Set in Norway in 1880. The local stage church is about to be sold to raise money for the new church. German architect, Gerhard is sent to the town to supervise the old church's deconstruction. A young peasant girl, Astrid catches his eye. But Astrid has more than one admirer. The pastor has his eye on her too.

The book is rich in history and atmosphere. I loved the descriptions of 19th century Norway. Thenoace is slow but that didn't seem to matter as it still kept my attention. It's full of traditions and folklore. The story behind the twin bells tugged at my heartstrings. I be,I've this is the first book in a trilogy. If it is, I look forward to reading them. Fans of historical fiction will love this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author Lars Mytting for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this story enthralling and atmospheric, one those story that makes you wonder and think.
The plot, the historical background, the great cast of characters are all elements that made me love this story.
It was en excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This book has got an atmosphere I didn't expect. That is the strongest part of the book, in my opinion. I very much liked the description of the life in the 19th century Norway and the beliefs of the inhabitants. It was very well written and I could understand them pretty well. I learned a lot here.
The book in general was a bit difficult to get in at first. The characters were not really easy to get to know, but after some time I got used to them. I didn't really like them, but I was interested in their life and wanted to know how the book ends.. The whole book took me to a completely different world I am happy to get to know.
I can recommend this book.

History and legends mixed together. This is a very interesting and well written book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This story was really intriguing and drew me in. The opening was very different - all about the history of the bells and how they came to be. It then leapt forwards in time to another era but this was fine - it meant that the reader really got to know the area and the reasons for the bells. I enjoyed the story and felt like it was very atmospheric - set in Norway there was plenty of description about the area which really set the scene.

I found it really interesting as it touches upon what legends are built on and made me think about our own local 'legends'.

It was very moving and beautifully written, the kind of book which you don't come across very often.

‘Something was niggling at her, the echo of what he had said about “church bells still ringing”, that runaway sentence that had realised it was in the wrong place, tripped and hidden itself, unsure whether it had escaped notice.’

Just my kind of book, set in the far north - in this case rural Norway at the end of the 19th century - steeped in historical detail, tinged with local legend, and the village’s accommodation of both the old and the new beliefs rang true. I hadn’t heard of stave churches before but just one look at the cover had me researching them and it was fascinating. Much of what is related here is inspired by real events or local stories and Lars Mytting has done a terrific job weaving them into a whole for this novel.

I engaged with the dilemma Astrid faces when people start coming to her village from the great world outside, curious to leave the small life offered by the village, yearning to travel, yet determined to stay true to her roots. And there you have the book’s central theme - how to provide for a congregation’s comfort and well-being without compromising their respect for the past, do the old ways have to give way to the new or can they coexist? Great atmosphere and characterisation, I could empathise with the main characters, even though they have such different motivations, and came to care for them enough to hope things worked out for them all. The ending is left open to an extent and that suited me well too.

Apparently this is the first of a translated trilogy by Norwegian author, Lars Mytting, yet this marvellous historical novel already feels epic in scope, richly descriptive and so detailed when it comes to the Stave churches and their history. A young headstrong woman, Astrid Hekne, feels a deep inner urge to see and experience life and knowledge beyond her tiny remote village of Butangen as she turns down local suitors for her hand. In a Norwegian landscape of treacherous mountains, endless fjords and seething rivers, Astrid's fate plays out against her family history, her intimate connection with the past, and the local church with its mystical Sister Bells. The bells commemorated the long dead conjoined twins, Halfrid and Gunhild Heckne, donated to the local church by her family, steeped in folklore, myth and legend, the bells ring by themselves in times of danger. Astrid's family has declined economically, working their fingers to the bone on the farm, struggling to eat, but are still honoured by locals.

It is 188o, it is a bitterly cold and freezing winter as the bells herald the coming of dark times. The young pastor, Kai Schweigaard, has sold the stave church with its pagan decorative carvings to the Saxon royal family, where it will be resurrected in Dresden. Promising German architect student, Gerhard Schonauer, arrives, tasked with making detailed pictures of the church and organising the entire moving project. Astrid feels a connection develop between the outsider pastor, Kai, a man overwhelmed by his duties, exhausted by the numerous funerals that have to be conducted, frustrated by the old, dark, desperately cold church where the elderly Klara froze to death at the New Year Mass. Kai too is drawn to Astrid, but he is engaged to a more suitable woman, and he frets that Astrid will not fit into his social circles and the expectations of a pastor's wife, she does not even know how to make it appear that her good ideas come from the man! Astrid becomes closer to the new outsider, Gerhard, certain he loves her, drawing her along with pictures of their future together in the modern city of Dresden but harsh knocks in life are to befall him.

This is wonderfully moving historical fiction, of the history of stave churches, of a woman ahead of her time, willing to question whether she wants to be a wife at all, of the challenge of the ancient versus the modern, of the old religion and Christianity, of remote village life where women face rigid social and economic expectations and the promise and lure of modern advancements in Dresden. Kai's decision to sell the stave church and the sister bells to finance a new, warmer, more modern church has far more repercussions than he could have possibly foreseen. Too late, he begins to comprehend that it is a living, consecrated monument that has kept dark forces away from the people, a community that still believes in the old ways, the old gods, the folklore and legends of the region. This is a beautifully written novel, with exquisite characterisation, especially the feisty Astrid and her unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Mytting dropped me right into a 19th century Norway and made me feel as if I was living in that time, in that landscape and encountering all of his characters. He is an astonishingly good storyteller and I cannot recommend this highly enough. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

A magical and ethereal novel in many ways. Translated from the Norwegian, it tells the tale of another place and time. This is the story of a village in the middle of nowhere, where a stranger comes and shakes everything up. The priest in the village wants to change the church and its place in the community. The two men of course clash and the village is thrust into the spotlight. The female protagonist Astrid, is a village girl whose father used to own the church bells when they were rich.

The story of the bells soon comes to light. The folklore around them, the story of the conjoined twins, the valley and lake as they are today.

It’s all set out like a tale about a legend, where each section builds up the background and essence of the story to come. This is a place that time has forgotten as it appears to be trapped inside a vortex of sorts. There is an air of enchantment , legends, religion and more merge or even collide.

It’s a story where a series of events starts and can’t be stopped, where the ball of eventuality rolls towards its destination. The journey is one of magical realism with sadness, grief and even humour along the way. You feel as if you’ve come to this place announced and that you can stay only until the characters let you. There is much to be done in this village and you have the honour of following their destiny whilst taking in the bigger picture.

This is a ethereal setting, a magical realism infused story and a reading experience which lingers.

Recommended.