The Sixteen Trees of the Somme" by Lars Mytting is a beautifully crafted novel that intricately weaves together family history, mystery, and the enduring power of identity. Mytting's prose is evocative and lyrical, capturing the essence of both rural Norway and the haunting landscapes of war-torn France. The novel's exploration of love, loss, and the complexities of memory is profound and moving, resonating long after the final page.

I recently bought a new kindle after my old one broke. For some reason I was unable to download this title from the cloud onto my kindle, therefore I will be unable to review this title. I am sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Loved this so much. A fascinating story. A remote Norwegian town and a Scottish island are the perfect settings. A beautifully crafted story that draws you in.
Themes: family, estrangement, history, a perfect package.

It took me awhile to read this book as I was reading it on my desktop computer, and it needed my full concentration. It got more interesting towards the middle of the book, and I found the character Gwen a little annoying. This doesn't mean that I didn't like the book. It is beautifully written set during WW1 and the present time in Norway, Scotland, and France. I loved the descriptions of the different locations. I found this to be an intense and mysterious read, and I really wanted to know what happened to Edvard's parents and with Einar. #TFBookClub

Such a beautifully written and translated novel - I struggled to put this one down. It's another of those 'cooking one-handed' books (warning: this may result in burns of both person and food!).
Edvard has grown up with his grandfather on a remote farm in the Norwegian mountains after the mysterious death of his parents when he was a small child.
After his grandfather dies, Edvard decides to leave his solitary life on the farm and investigate what happened. His journey takes him to the northernmost Scottish Shetland Islands where his Great Uncle lived the last years of his life, and to a small woodland in the Somme, where his parents died.
The descriptions of the bleak Scottish islands, the lush woodland in the Somme, and Edvard potato farm in Norway are stunning. The Wars are described in heartbreaking terms: the loss and the grim reality of war, families torn apart and suspicions aimed at friends and family members. And at its heart, a boy without parents, orphaned with he death of his grandfather, trying to make sense of his familys past.
A truly gorgeous book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher (MacLehose Press) for my copy of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley the author and publishers for a copy of this book. I must admit I’ve found this a real struggle to read. Quite a dark subject matter, almost Nordic noir. Had everything I like in a read, historic backdrop of the Somme, a mystery to be solved, stunning landscapes, however couldn’t engage with the characters, story moved back and forth too much. Sad, as the reviews seem really good but not for me.

Thankyou to NetGalley, MacLehose Press, Quercus Books and the author, Lars Mytting, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Sixteen Trees Of The Somme in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I seriously had to think about how to describe what I thought of this novel. I finished reading it a week ago and I find I am unable to put into words my thoughts.
Honestly, there are no words to justify how good this novel truly is. And I will not even try. I wouldn't want to do the author an injustice.
I highly recommend this novel. I don't think there will be too many readers who would not enjoy it as much as I did.

In a story that moves back and forth in time, the eponymous Sixteen Trees of the Somme remain central - even when the reader is not sure where the story is going, or what their significance is. Lars Mytting writes beautifully about woods - both growing and felled, (as seen in his previous non fiction bestseller), and this is an interesting focus within a poignant family story that spans the 20th century.

This is a powerful book. It should be widely read. I could say more and more and justify why, but the book should be left to speak for itself. Don't miss out on what feels like an important publication.

This is a complex but well-structured story of Edvard & his family. Edvard is a Norwegian farmer, living with his Grandfather and just in his early 20s. His parents were killed in France in 1971, when he was 3. He has never quite filled in the gaps of what they were doing there and what happened when he disappeared for 4 days. His story takes him back through his family and its connections with the Shetlands and later into France.

I must take my hat off to the translator of this book. The descriptions are quite excellent - the wild and rough weather around the Shetlands, the intricacies of the wood and the silence of the woods in France. Sometimes translated books can be a little stilted or loose their depth of description but that was not the case in this book. This is a book in full technicolour with vivid descriptions and real depth.

Edvard is a complex character but very believable as a young man. He doesn't really know what he wants in life - though possibly not to grow old alone potato farming. He doesn't quite understand people and the complexities of their personalities and in many ways is very innocent. He has barely ever stepped outside his small area in Norway so has a great deal to learn! There are plenty of supporting characters who are equally well written with depth of character. Hanne is the slightly overbearing Norwegian girlfriend and Gwen the complicated girl he meets in Shetland who is way out of his league.There are also various family members who are defined more by what they didn't say or do than what they did.

There are a lot of themes in this book. You can take the story at face value - and a good story it is too. However there is a lot also about complicated relationships. Who keeps secrets and why? Why do people treat each other the way they do? The interaction of the characters both in the present and past is fascinating.

I very much enjoyed this book. I wasn't too sure about the ending. It fitted the facts with no problem but I wasn't sure it was exactly right - just a personal impression.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

This book has been translated into English yet it certainly hasn’t taken away the integrity of the book nor the beauty of the story it self.
Discuss wars and conflicts.
Beautifully written. A must to any book collection
Thank you to both NetGalley and Quercus book for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

The Sixteen Trees of the Somme...wow, quite a novel and that’s in English so I can only imagine what it reads like in Norwegian. Hats off to the translator! Very impressive to get such lyrical and emotional language from the off and to keep it flowing so naturally throughout. It pulls on the heartstrings more because of this, and a fitting style for such a moving read.

Moving in every sense of the word - The BookTrail goes to Saskum in Norway (close to Lillehammer) , the Shetland Isles (Unst, Norwick and Scalloway to name but three) and then of course off to the Somme where all the emotions and heart of the novel lead. Authuille is the tiny settlement which was actually at the centre of the WW1 Battle of the Somme.

It’s an epic read but one which flows and takes you with it. At the centre is Edvard who lost his parents at age 3 so has grown up with his grandfather Bestefar (love that name!). They live on a farm and cultivate potatoes and life for a while is hard but stable. But when Bestefar dies, Edvard realises that his past is hidden in his grandfather’s papers. His journey will take him far and wide...to the most remote and northern parts of the Shetland islands where he meets someone who will help his story come together.

It’s not until we get to France that the story’s clues settle in to some sort of picture and reveals the emotions of what happened to his parents all those years ago. I was a mess by this point to be honest. So wrapped up in the language, entire story which span centuries but which seemed to be too short - I wallowed after reading this, not wanting to get up from my reading spot, move on, and certainly not read anything else for a while.

It’s a journey of a novel in both setting, locations and its emotional heart is beating strong. Wow. Quite something. I’m off to buy the original and am going to use this as a practice for improving my Norwegian. I want to learn these words and meet them in their natural habitat so to speak. Also gives me an excuse to read this again. Not that I need it.

Highly recommended. Lars Mytting and translator Paul Russell Garrett - take a bow.

"...before long it became clear that the story was also about me: the year my history began was far, far earlier than the year I was born; my history began four hundred years ago, when sixteen walnut trees sprouted near the Somme."

The Sixteen Trees of the Somme follows Edvard Hirifjell who, after his grandfather dies, is set on a quest to uncover the secrets of his family; how his parents died when he was young, why a handmade coffin was sent for his grandfather decades before he died, the feud between his grandfather and great-uncle, and a mysterious inheritance that he doesn't know what or where it is. The mystery takes him from Norway, to the Shetland Islands and the battlefields of the Somme.

I loved this book, it was beautifully written (and translated) and I loved how the mystery unraveled, spanning various wars and countries, and how everything (and everyone) was interlinked. Found myself completely immersed in the story and the settings. Also never knew I would find descriptions of wood so interesting, haha!

Sometimes when a book is translated into English the music of the original language is lost. I feel that this read has been beautifully translated and the very essence of the original book is in tact. Lars Mytting is a master story teller, creating an intriguing, complex and beautiful read. He has woven different elements of time, people of different countries thrown together from life’s decisions, war and touching on events of history. Edvard, (Édouard, Edward) Hirifjell (the 3 versions are relevant to the story) is a young man who has been raised by whom he believes to be his grandparents Alma and Sverre. He lives on a farm cultivating potatoes and managing sheep. It’s a reclusive life and the farm is almost totally self efficient. Edvard has an elusive memory of his childhood, a French childhood of when he was 4 years old, a memory of his parents but the events surrounding their death remain hidden from sight. When the Bestefar (grandfather), Sverre) dies Edvard is determined to discover the many events that have occurred but for which have been kept from him. Sverre had a brother Einar who did not want to farm and left to go to Paris to improve his talents of wood carving. The war comes, brothers are on opposing sides, Einar joins the French Resistance and Sverre takes the German uniform. He is shunned by the village people, the reason for the self efficiency of the farm. Eventually Edvard who has never been anywhere further than the local village after making a few phone calls decides to make his journey of discovery which takes him to the Shetland Islands and then onto France. During this time Edvard discovers added elements that Bestefar has kept from him which adds to the continuing suspense. In the mix of everything there is the plight of those taken to the concentration camps, children that survived their parents that are then raised by other surviving adults. This starts to add to the complexity of Edvard’s heritage. On the Shetland Islands “Edward” manages to make contact with those who knew Einar, remembered because of his decorative coffin making. As he starts to make connections he meets a young woman about his age who lives part-time on the island. She creates a fictitious name but Edward discovers her real identity. Gwen Winterfinch is also looking for the truth regarding a contract made by her grandfather and Einar. The complexity of the story deepens involving the Winterfinch Scottish timber merchants and special Walnut trees left in a prohibited woodland area of the Somme in France and of the special timber that had been removed from the woodland. Entry is prohibited due to the unexploded poisoness gas bombs. The story of Gwen’s grandfather and his own involvement in the war with the Black Watch troops and events of the war that affected his life add another dimension to the story. The two travel to France armed with the information Edvard was given from a now retired policewoman who remembers some of the events that surround his parents’ death that took place in the small village of the Somme area and the prohibited woodland. During all this time while seemingly supportive of Edvard, Gwen has her own ambitions to discover the truth of events. While in the same small village that his parents had been, the elusive memories re-emerge and he remembers, Édouard, the four year old. The final memories emerge with his realisation of his part in the events of his parents’ death. The mystery surrounding the priceless timber is still unsolved however with remarkable sleuthing a final return to the Shetland Islands Édouard solves the mystery.

The author can string together some beautiful words. He brings to life his love of wood and links this to a family mystery, Shetland Islands role as a WWII base for Norwegian operations, WWII concentration camps and the Battle of the Somme during WWI. That's a pretty interesting pot-pourri.
While the premise of the book is great, the various relationships and coincidences including kissing cousins, a lost toy dog and family connections were a bit clumsy for me.

I started this book with no expectations and I am finding it hard to put into words how I feel about the book. The book moves from a remote farm in Norway to an isolated island in the Shetlands. It has a lot of beautiful prose and descriptions that made scenes vivid and real. In that respect the story was rich and wonderful.
The characters however were quite shadowy. Edvard the main character never really reveals himself and I felt as though information about him was being withheld. The other characters in the book also seem distant and never seem to reveal their true selves and I felt a bit left out by that. I am not sure if something has been lost in translation but I just felt even at the end I did not really understand what had happened.
The plot is very intriguing and centres on a group of sixteen trees near the Somme River, the site of two very bloody wars where many bodies fell and were never retrieved as well as undetonated shells. The wood from the sixteen trees is considered priceless and to be at the heart of a bitter family feud. One which left Edvard alone with his grandfather in Norway, his own parents having been mysteriously killed at the site of the trees.
This is a slow moving book but I think it had to be, however despite the historical elements and amazing locations, I felt a little removed from it all by the lack of insight into Edvard, Gwen and their families.
Thank you Netgalley and Quercus Press for the opportunity to review this book.

This was quite an epic story of love and loss.
Slowly unravelling as Eduard dug into the mysteries of his past and came across a story that stretched back two wars.
I can't really say what I liked about this book,it's difficult to pinpoint. I liked the main character,and indeed his grandfather... but not so much Gwen who left you constantly guessing what her motives were at this point.
Overall it was just interesting.