in the House by the River 

Gwendoline Riley: The Palm House 

Laura Vinogradova: The River 

Gwendoline Riley´s First Love was Women's Prize-shortlisted. That I have not read, yet, but this The Palm House, this I did and I enjoyed. To me it was a good reading experience. Very fluent, sharp, witty, observant. Loved the flow, the fragments drawing a full picture. The Palm House is a sharply observed, slyly funny novel of enduring friendships and small mercies.

There is Laura. She has a friend Putnam, quite an annoying besserwisser type of a guy. He gets laid off his long term employement in a magazine.
Laura and Putnam have been friends for a long time. They share a drink a two, after work hours, in a pub, in Putnam, s house but the main focus, for me, was in the relationship Laura has with her mother. 

Very very enjoyable read!

The River (Upe):

Lately I have been trying to find small publishing houses, "smaller books", (yet translated to English or Swedish or Finnish). Also I have been trying to find prizelisted books, and sometimes all my criteria gathers in one book and Laura Vonogradova ´ s The River (Upe) has all the criteria in one book. 

In many ways it is the sort of book I love and have always championed, a strong text with feelings that touch me (I am not much of a plot reader, I do not "need " it) even though The River was not plot-free but has a strong tale that really touched me Also, as the writer (not the text) seems nowadays mean so much (more than the text?) Laura Vinogradova is someone who I can relate since she started off with a business degree before discovering her passion for writing a few years ago. Also, Vinogradova is very accomplished - she = her book Upe, 2021, this translated as The River, 2025, was nominated for the European Literature Prize and shortlisted for the Latvian Book of the Year.

Did I already say - I loved this book! 

The River is a novella that feels like an epic work. It packs a lot into a small book. Loss of a sister, moving forward with a relationship, our parents, and our own vision. In our lives, all these are looked at in this very short novel. 

As I said, this is the type of novel I love: personal, heartbreaking, thought-provoking, and a gem that needs to be widely read (and it reminds me of Peirene Press-books which I seem to like a lot, too). About the plot (more of this than The Palm House since it is so read, you ´ll see the plot for yourselves) … the book, The River,  follows the stories of two sisters. Rute ´s sister Dina disappeared many years ago. Rute writes letters to Dina, Dina ´s voice is not heard, she is only alive in the letters. 

Rute finds out that her father (who she hardly knew) has passed away and he has left her a property in a small village where she meets the couple next door and their young son. 

But, also, while she herself ponders her own issues in her partnership in the city, in the village, in her father´s property she encounters a new man, this father of hers, who her mother called a waste of space being a well respected man in his community, so, a lot of thoughts around life and past and future.

This is the first book of Vinogradova and as said, I loved this book. For me this was perfect since I love a great atmosphere, feeling, and the setting and the gallery of characters they all just matched and the whole book vas very powerfully written, delicate and strong at the same time