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THE INTERNATIONAL AWARD WINNER
GUARDIAN BEST TRANSLATED FICTION 2025

‘Beautifully written and thought-provoking, this stayed with me for a long time’ DAILY MAIL

‘Uplifting, gentle … each page is made marvellous. Grytten’s characters are intriguing, unique and reassuringly flawed’ TIMES

How would you spend your last day? And whom would you spend it with?

Ferryman Nils Vik chooses to head out onto the fjord, as he has for many years. Today, the 18th of November, his trip is different. As his trusty boat reaches the sea, a lifetime of passengers join him from beyond the grave, among them his rescue dog, the American photographer he thought of as his friend and young Jon Anderson, whose funeral Nils attended. But Nils is truly waiting for just one passenger: his beloved wife Marta, whose absence has marked each day since her passing. Approaching the end of his journey, his expectation grows – will he be reunited with her too?

Timeless and heartbreaking, The Ferryman and His Wife is a contemplative celebration of life, for readers of Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth Strout and Sarah Winman.

‘A heartfelt reckoning of a human life’ Lisa Ridzen, bestselling author of When the Cranes Fly South

‘Saturated with tenderness, achingly real and profoundly moving’ Anne Michaels, Booker-shortlisted author of Held

Translated by Alison McCullough

Publisher Review

Beautifully written and thought-provoking, this stayed with me for a long time * Daily Mail * Uplifting, gentle ... each page is made marvellous. Grytten's characters are intriguing, unique and reassuringly flawed * Times * A poignant, lyrical novel. Incredibly moving and a constant surprise -- Roisin Maguire, author of Night Swimmers A profound exploration of what gives a life meaning. The story is breathtaking, unforgettable -- Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of The Bright Years A heartfelt reckoning of a human life, with all that it entails. With a grounded, everyday touch, Grytten patiently weaves the slow tapestry of how a human being comes into being-through their relationships, not only with other people, but with the place itself and the lives that inhabit it -- Lisa Ridzen, bestselling author of When the Cranes Fly South Few novels understand so well that a life can never be summed up and will always overflow its telling. Everything is at stake in these 166 pages, saturated with tenderness, achingly real and profoundly moving -- Anne Michaels, Booker-shortlisted author of Held A beautiful, warm and touching story about what makes life worth living -- Brage Prize Jury Uplifting ... A beautifully wrought, unsentimental novel of time and memory * Irish Times * In tone and style, it's quite like Claire Keegan's novel Small Things Like These: both books' sentences are simple and solidly made; both of their stories are helmed by profoundly moral men * Telegraph *