Who would have thought that a theologian and psalmist could write so terrifyingly about God? So maybe Ingrid Brækken Melve also has some insight into the ins and outs of psychiatry. Her debut novel shows a mind in confusion and despair, and a body totally dependent on others for survival. It is strong food, and the narrative is well-turned by a new author. Who is therefore both a psalm poet and a doctoral student in theology. God gives and God takes away Rebekka is in her late 20s. For a long time she has been waiting for the phone call to say that a donor has finally died, so she can live. Rebekka has had several extensive heart operations ever since she was a child. Now it is critical. The parents are convinced that God gives her life as a gift, again and again. The extremely weak and overprotected Rebekka has worked as a church servant’s assistant, a position specially created for her. The father is a priest. He makes sure Rebekka has a service to go to. They all agree that studies will be too tough for her. It’s best she lives at home, too. Rebekka has a very strained relationship with her mother. For is she not further from God? thinks Rebekka. And here we are at a core of the novel: Is God only good? And are all the attempts the mother makes to show care for Rebekka, from evil? Hear the discussion about the book in “Open Book: The Critics”: Room for interpretations The title “Rejection” can be interpreted in several ways. Physically, it is a question of the body’s ability to accept the new heart. On the mental level, however, it is more complicated. Who is pushing who away? Throughout the novel, Rebekka addresses a you, and this you is God himself. He does anything to gain new followers, whether he conjures up hurricanes or other calamities, she thinks: God is also someone who punishes. He can cause her pain and suffering, if she shows too much interest in other people, or commitment to life in general. A mind to cross Already early in the book we get disturbing descriptions of Rebekka who sees herself from the outside. She is sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed. Gradually, the trips out of the body become longer, and the visions become more violent. The distinction between reality and hallucinations is almost blurred as more and more takes place inside Rebekka’s head. With accelerating creepiness, Brækken Melve reveals the mental challenges Rebekka struggles with. Here she is good. The small displacements, the reflections on what is here, tangible, and the more spiritual, are so careful that we hardly notice them until we are taken far into a parallel reality. Starts the reader’s ideas about God The concrete conversations with the father are the weakest part of the novel. The dialogue seems stilted and distant. This may of course be intentional, since the relationship between father and daughter deteriorates considerably over the course of the novel. The book is also marred by a number of printing errors, small words missing from the sentences or a trifle such as Rebekka considering whether to draw the curtains, when she clearly thinks otherwise. So what is this book about? A young woman trying to find herself? How much power can religion have over a person? Or how often do we talk past each other and take the other’s intentions in the worst sense? That the book cannot be defined with one label is a quality. Another is the originality of the subject matter. Ingrid Brækken Melve has written an unpleasant, enervating and good novel. A solid debut, if you ask me. news reviewer Photo: Cappelen Damm Title: «Avstøtning» Author: Ingrid Brækken Melve Genre: Novel Publisher: Cappelen Damm Number of pages: 272
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“Rejection” by Ingrid Brækken Melve – Reviews and recommendations
