Novel (Danish)
Jesper Stein: Rampen, 2020
A skilled crime writer has made a beautiful and well-written novel about his childhood, youth and adulthood seen and understood in the light of his parents’ marriage and divorce, which throws the young Jesper into a desperate relationship with the bitter and depressed mother, Jytte, who is abandoned by her husband of 29 years, high school teacher Finn, who is leaves their home in Aarhus for a young student. Jesper writes a beautiful portrait of the parents ‘cohabitation and personalities but also the pain and shame he himself is left with not just in connection with the divorce but through the rest of the parents’ lives because they are not able to live a healthy life individually. Jesper is severely trapped in this dysfunctional relationship and is emotionally captured as a caregiver for his mother who exceeds his personal boundaries. Jesper’s youth life is marked by desperation, alcohol, many sex partners and bad grades in school, while he tries to find and take care of himself longing for love from his parents, whom he deeply respects and loves for their professional intelligence and despite their emotional limitations. An open-minded, captivating and vividly told story of a young man who suffers and staggers his way to forgiveness in his adult life.