Boulder

Working as a cook on a merchant ship, a woman comes to know and love Samsa, a woman who gives her the nickname ‘Boulder’. When Samsa gets a job in Reykjavik and the couple decides to move there together, Samsa decides that she wants to have a child. She is already forty and can’t bear to let the opportunity pass her by. Boulder is less enthused, but doesn’t know how to say no – and so finds herself dragged along on a journey that feels as thankless as it is alien. With motherhood changing Samsa into a stranger, Boulder must decide where her priorities lie, and whether her yearning for freedom can truly trump her yearning for love. Once again, Eva Baltasar demonstrates her pre-eminence as a chronicler of queer voices navigating a hostile world – and in prose as brittle and beautiful as an ancient saga.

Working as a cook on a merchant ship, a woman comes to know and love Samsa, a woman who gives her the nickname ‘Boulder’. When Samsa gets a job in Reykjavik and the couple decides to move there together, Samsa decides that she wants to have a child. She is already forty and can’t bear to let the opportunity pass her by. Boulder is less enthused, but doesn’t know how to say no – and so finds herself dragged along on a journey that feels as thankless as it is alien. With motherhood changing Samsa into a stranger, Boulder must decide where her priorities lie, and whether her yearning for freedom can truly trump her yearning for love. Once again, Eva Baltasar demonstrates her pre-eminence as a chronicler of queer voices navigating a hostile world – and in prose as brittle and beautiful as an ancient saga.

Hun er enspænder, kvinde og skibskok og på rejse i Sydamerika. Da hun møder islændingen Samsa slår det gnister og langsomt må den uafhængige Boulder, eller Rullesten som Samsa kalder hende, opgive sin uafhængighed og blive slave af sin kærlighed. På Island passer hun hjemmet, mens Samsa forfølger karrieren, men da to skal blive til tre og Samsa bliver gravid står Boulder i et dilemma. 'Boulder' er både en historie om kærlighed og ensomhed. Om frihed, passion og kærligt familieliv, der kan udvikle sig til et fængsel. Romanen blev shortlistet til The International Booker Prize i 2023 med begrundelsen: ”Boulder er en sanselig, sexet intens bog. Eva Baltasar fortætter fornemmelsen og erfaringerne fra et dusin traditionelle romaner til godt 100 siders fortættet prosa. En indtrængende historie om queer kærlighed og moderskab, der åbner dilemmaerne med at udveksle uafhængighed med intimitet.” 'Boulder' er den anden af tre romaner, som catalanske Eva Baltasar har skrevet, der undersøger kvinders vilkår i forskellige afgørende livssituationer. Baltasars første roman 'Permafrost' er udkommet på Sisyfos i 2022.