Coming of age means being shaped like a sculpture, ready to be weathered by natural forces, by hands of history that are too numerous to fathom. This is an experience all humans must go through, but it's only in time that we can tell how the hands of history have shaped us.
THE SUMMER OF ELLEN by Agnente Friis, explores the developmental year of when Jacob was a budding teenager and the summer he stayed with his two uncles, meeting the beautiful and artistic Ellen in 1978. As a teenager, Jacob has his own numerous issues to deal with: namely, his parents' separation when his mother abandoned his father. Then there is the incident with his friend Sten as well as Sten's sister, Toad, who went missing. The last thing Jacob desires is to live with two bachelor uncles who seem to lack understanding and experience in dealing with a teenager, but to get away from his father, he agrees to do it.
Fast forward thirty-plus years, and Jacob is in the middle of a bitter divorce, accused of being a stalker, and is a bitter man. Once again, the last thing he desires is to go back to his uncles' farm, but when someone calls to inquire about Ellen, Jacob feels he has little choice in the matter. He goes back and starts to uncover how little he knew of the summer of 1978.
My first warning will be that this is not an easy book, and this is not a story for people who have tender hearts towards animals. This is a story of discomfort, looking at numerous flaws in an unpolished mirror where they become as big as the mountains. This is also a story of brutality, ugliness, and shame. THE SUMMER OF ELLEN by Agnete Friis will seep into the pores, infecting the heart and mind with grotesque images. There is something cold and beautiful about the way Agnete Friis captures the mind of a developing teenage boy that is ready to become molded by the ugliness around him.
What I loved about THE SUMMER OF ELLEN, besides the atmosphere, is that Agnete Friis doesn't shy away from the ugliness of the farm life as well as portraying how teenage boys become shaped into misogynistic men. I also loved the symbolism she used, even when I was uncomfortable with it, and enjoyed seeing her portrayal of Denmark in the 1970s as well as modern times. The mystery aspect, although interesting, wasn't memorable for me, but its the 1978 summer that made the story fascinating.
For readers looking for an intriguing story about Denmark or a story dealing with the way teenage boys could possibly become misogynists, then THE SUMMER OF ELLEN by Agnete Friis will be a memorable read.
Agnete Friis’s lyrical, evocative work of psychological suspense weaves together two periods in one man’s life to explore obsession, toxic masculinity, and the tricks we play on our own memory.
Jacob, a middle-aged architect living in Copenhagen, is in the alcohol-soaked throes of a bitter divorce when he receives an unexpected call from his great-uncle Anton. In his nineties and still living with his brother on their rural Jutland farm--a place Jacob hasn’t visited since the summer of 1978--Anton remains haunted by a single question: What happened to Ellen?
To find out, Jacob must return to the farm and confront what took place that summer--one defined by his teenage obsession with Ellen, a beautiful young hippie from the local commune, and the unsolved disappearance of a local girl. In revisiting old friends and rivals, Jacob discovers the tragedies that have haunted him for over forty years were not what they seemed.
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