Book Review: Emma's Story

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful is a too tame word to describe this tale. Haunting and memorable, wintry and heartwarming, so many nuances and so many undertones!
Exceptional is what I choose to call it.



Young Emma of the anfylk dreams of a quiet life in her little village in the big forest.
She wants to raise a family and grow old in peace and quiet, with the love of her life by her side.
But her love is a scoundrel and a rogue, who dreams of adventure and glory, and is more at home on the road than by the hearth. And Emma is not sure he is truly the man she needs, for the life she wants?

She should marry her friend. 'Her stupid, kind hearted, ignorant, well meaning, wild minded friend.' Emma knows it. And so do her parents and the village. They all think that's the best. And yet, Emma's mind is full of doubt and her heart full of fear. Because the scoundrel might be too brash and adventurous to tame.

The girl's parents and the whole village wait for Emma to decide. And as the months pass without a decision, disapproval and judgement are more and more felt by our young girl. No one says anything out loud but Emma knows what they're thinking. They're silently judging, questioning and blaming.

As the time draws near for Emma to finally make up her mind, a huge bear comes down from the mountains to terrorize the forest, and everything else will just have to wait...

To seek aid for her village, Emma must travel farther than she's ever been before, and the journey may help her find the answer she is looking for.

Marry the crap out of the useless fool of a man or find a different way to fulfill her dream.

But time is ticking and things don't always go as planned, so Emma's tale may not have the ending anyone planned.

'Emma's Story is a cold, wintry fairytale about making difficult decisions, living up to expectations, and how things don't always turn out the way you hoped.' And it is one tale you'll find it difficult to forget.

Beautifully narrated, in a unique style 'Emma's Story' brings to mind a winter evening with people gathered in a hall, around a roaring fire and listening spellbound to a bard weaving an enchanted tale.
Chapters written in 3rd person POV are framed by the explanation of an all-knowing narrator in a lyrical and downright memorable way.

From touch:
'The rough surface warmed her palms, and the faint smoke rising from within hinted at evenings free from work and chores long completed....'

to smell:
'A campfire by a forest lake. Morning mists rising from the valleys. Pipe smoke and sheep and walking over ground covered by fallen pine needles on a warm summer night....'

and taste:
'Gold and brown and moss covered rocks. Fire in the hearth, stew in the pot, and a good friend with no need to talk....'

everything is lyrical and expressive and leaping from the page.

But the real highlight of the tale for me were the subtle undercurrents intricately embedded throughout this tale. Those that gut and hit the mark with a resounding bullseye! And the fact that you get to make assumptions you firmly believe in, only to have them slap you in the face by the end. Something that's difficult to achieve, especially in a shorter read like this.

Bottom-line, cause I already held you too long, Emma's Story is a haunting wintry tale, intricate, unique and beautifully written.
And I highly recommend it to everyone in search of a quality read.

Hugs and light everyone
and remember
It's what you want that matters, not what others want or think.

Check out this book and more of Nils Odlund here.