Crimson by Niviaq Korneliussen (translated by Anna Halagar)

Crimson by Niviaq Korneliussen (translated by Anna Halagar).

Published 1st November 2019 by Virago.
Read August 2020.

From the cover of the book:

The island has run out of oxygen. The island is swollen. The island is rotten. The island has taken my beloved from me. The island is a Greenlander. It's the fault of the Greenlander.

In Nuuk, Greenland . . .

Fia breaks up with her long-term boyfriend and falls for Sara.

Sara is in love with Ivik who holds a deep secret and is about to break promises.

Ivik struggles with gender dysphoria as their friends become addicted to social media, listen to American pop music and get blind drunk in downtown bars and uptown house parties.

Then there is Inuk, who also has something to hide - it will take him beyond his limits to madness, and question what it means to be a Greenlander, while Arnaq, the party queen, pulls the strings of manipulation, bringing a web of relationships to a shocking crescendo.

Crimson weaves through restlessness, depression, love and queer experiences to tell the story of Greenlanders through a unique and challenging form. The original text was written and published in the Greenlandic language.

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I have read more than a few Nordic Noir books over the years, but this one my first one from Greenland and I found it rather intriguing - it was also an interesting and unusual choice to round off Women in Translation month.

The book is split into the stories of five separate people - Fia; her brother, Inuk; Inuk's best friend, Arnaq; and Sara and her girlfriend Ivik. Through their narratives, we go on a journey that explores their relationships with each other, how this has affected their deepest feelings and what they have learned about themselves. 

It takes a while to understand where this story is going, but by the time you get to Arnaq's narrative  you realise how clever this book actually is. It is not until you hear the story from the points of view of each of the characters and put all the pieces together that you understand the whole piece - and intriguingly appreciate what a catalyst Arnaq is for the direction of the novel.

There is no question that this is an unusual and, in part, somewhat sad tale that reveals rather a lot about the negative attitude of the traditional and insular Greenlanders towards those of their own who are gay, lesbian, or gender dysphoric. However, I also found it to be a very touching and intimate portrayal of the relationships between the cast of characters, and I rather enjoyed it in a strange way.

If you are not afraid to walk a bit on the wild side, then I can recommend this short and unconventional novel as being worth your time. It will certainly make you think, as all good Virago titles do!

Thank you to Amazon for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.