My Norwegian review of Thomas Sullivan's excellent novel "Second Soul" is now published in the Norwegian publication ABC Nyheter. Read my full review in Norwegian here."Second Soul" is a novel with special relevance for Norwegian readers. The starting point of the story is based on Anna Bågenholm's near-fatal ski accident in Narvik in 1999. Bågenholm, an experienced cross country skier, was skiing downhill from Mørkhola on her Telemark skis as she slid down a steep icy gully and ended up submerged head first in a hole in the ice in a 56 degree (Fahrenheit) stream for more than 80 minutes. She was clinically dead but was miraculously saved by a team of doctors lead by Mads Gilbert at Tromsø University Hospital.
Thomas Sullivan transposed this event to an American setting in "Second Soul". The main character Michael Carmichael, the Waterfall Man, is skiing outside Sheshebans in Minnesota as he loses control and skies into an ice cold waterfall. From this starting point Thomas Sullivan developes his own story full of drama, psychology and action. Key to the the drama is the text of Ecclesiastes 3:21: "Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? (The Book of Ecclesiastes, The Old Testament).
His lively description of skiing techniques and styles as well as snow conditions is a treat. I strongly recommend the book.
His lively description of skiing techniques and styles as well as snow conditions is a treat. I strongly recommend the book.
