A Northern Light in Provence is about a translator from Greenland who has always dreamed of traveling to France. She is chosen to translate the works of a Provençal poet and negotiates a deal to travel there to work with him personally. The writing swept me off to Provence and the romance, scenery, and food had me wanting to spend a month in the South of France myself. Thank you to @netgalley for the arc! This novel publishes May 21st!

Thank you @randomhouse and @netgalley for the eARC of A Northern Light In Provence by @elizabethbirkelund in expxhange for an honest review.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 There is energy all around us, from the land to the people living on it, energy that can both energize and drain individuals. Ilse has been raised in the Inuit culture in Greenland, where this energy is woven through daily life. In a community that is energized and sustained by the bonds of its people, Isle yearns to escape the arctic tundra. A Northern Light in Provence is a beautiful tale of manifesting a dream into reality through hope and hard work. When Isle finally has the chance to leave Greenland to travel to France, she has to follow her heart and reconcile her personal hopes with cultural norms. Elizabeth Birkelund blends these two worlds into an absolutely stunning story, a culturally rich and immersive coming of age journey.

5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram ahead of the publication date.

A terrific novel with an unusual backdrop… Greenland and Provence! I had no idea what to expect and I was thrilled to read this exceptional story of a multilingual Greenland resident who is translator from French to English and in reverse if necessary. Ilse is one of the most interesting main characters I have ever met. She lives in a cottage ready to slide into the glacier in a tiny town in Greenland and travels to Provence to meet and translate a famed poet’s newest book. The author captures both environments with superb descriptions of the light, the mountains, the flowers, the smells, the people. Ilse experiences an intellectual relationship with the port that changes her life. I loved the book!

Ilse, living on the island of Greenland, works as a translator. Offered a plum job of translating the French Poet's book of poetry in, of all places, Provence, France, she is torn. It's a long way from home, she is not fond of planes, and what if she fails and her translations don't measure up. She puts on her brave front, and goes, leaving friends and family behind. In France, she finds a culture completely different from what she has grown up with - people are open, friendly, speaking to strangers and accepting them as they are. She falls in love with Provence first and with her poet and his son later. Eventually, her job ends and she returns to Greenland. She has changed but the people have not - or have they changed as well? Is she looking at them through a new lense?

This book is not for everyone. The writing is beautiful and lyrical. Some will look at the realities of Ilse's life, others will see the enchanting beauty that is around all of us.

I did not know what to expect when I started reading this book. I was expecting more of a novel about Provence. What we get is a look at what daily life and love in Greenland and then Provence. I loved reading about the Greenland part of the novel but found it to be a bit too long at first. Upon finishing the novel, I realized that the information at the beginning was necessary to the story. I loved the love story of poetry and translation between the Poet and our main character. We experience a small village in Provence with new eyes and marvel through her eyes. I won’t tell who she ends up with, but it a life affirming journey. I recommend this novel.

A Northern Light in Provence has all the makings of a great story but sadly I don't think this story was for me.

We follow Ilse a translator living in Greenland who has never traveled anywhere but dreams of visiting France but she finally get the opportunity when she is asked to translate a book of poetry.

This is the first book I've ever read about a translator and I enjoyed that part of the story and the descriptions of France were beautiful. However, the third person writing style was a struggle for me and I didn't feel connected to Ilse. In fact, I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I realized I wasn't excited to continue and decided not to finish it. I won't be rating this story since I didn't finish it but I do thank Netgally and Random House for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A tender and romantic novel that blends love , language , and cultural undertones..The writing is atmospheric and will transport the reader to beautiful Provence. An excellent story.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

4 stars

This is an understated novel that will really please readers who appreciate atmosphere and character development.

Ilse lives in Greenland, works as a translator, and has an opportunity to visit Provence to work with a poet who will present a welcome linguistic and cultural challenge. For me, the two locations - Greenland and Provence - were major selling points for picking up this read, and they do not disappoint. Readers get a real sense of Ilse's life in Greenland, especially considering her simultaneous separation from others and inability to escape the same folks over and over again. The weather and scenery also really drive parts of the plot and Ilse's development, and I loved reading about these elements since I have exactly no experience in Greenland and was curious. I do have some experience in Provence, and I enjoyed the portion of the book that is set there for the opposite reason: relatability. There's something very particular about the air, the colors, the romantic quality, and the natural scenery in that region, and Ilse's personal realizations and changes seemed realistically intertwined with the landscape. The settings in this book are as important as the individual characters and, in fact, markedly shape those characters.

Ilse has a lot of growth to accomplish when the novel begins, but she never comes off as foolish or helpless, common and irritating traits in female protagonists of this age group. She's cerebral but reasonable, as well as hopeful and resilient. She's a great character, and while this is not an action-packed book, it proved a welcome change of pace for me and will be a lush, engaging read for many.

I loved this book. Why? The language is beautiful, it compares two disparate cultures—Nordic vs Provence both in story and in rhythm; there are feelings for three men of different backgrounds and ages; the descriptions of the settings are exquisite and made me want to travel, and it explores the inner thought life of a thinking woman as well as subtle differences that culture and related languages make. The writer has captured my imagination about life and post-life, about place and time, about men and women, about weather and about the nature of rescuing and being a savior. It’s a valiant and captivating read. I'd give it more than 5 stars if it was possible.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for the Advanced Review copy.

A Northern Light In Provence is a book about love: a love affair, love between father and son, love of poetry, and love of nature. A character-driven novel, we watch Ilse grow as she leaves Greenland for the first time to meet a troubadour poet in Provence, France. She learns the nuances of poetry, the beauty of France, and meets a friend in her poet. This is a book about self-discovery amidst love.

Ilse is a young woman, a translator who lives and works from her isolated home in Greenland where she continues to mourn the loss of her brother five years prior. When she is asked to translate a book of poetry from a troubadour in Provence, she requests a trip to Provence from her publisher that will change her life forever. This beautifully written novel is about all the different kinds of love that are out there if we are only open to receiving it.

I felt myself identifying with Ilse. I shut myself off from the world following the death of my fiancée. I didn't have the amazing opportunity to travel to another country to meet a poet, but, my life isn't a book. It took a bit to get into the writer's style, but the book flowed well after I did. The characters could have used a bit more depth, but otherwise still a very solid read.

A NORTHERN LIGHT IN PROVENCE is about a woman's journey to France to translate poems of a local poet and the people she encounters during her time there. I thought the writing was beautiful (especially describing the scenery of France) and had a nice flow to it. But I found the plot itself rushed enough that it made it feel like there were gaps that I didn't find it necessarily believable at times. But I can see other people enjoying this book and the escapism of it. I did appreciate the message and reminder that a thing that doesn't work out in life was just the bridge to lead you to the real thing that was always meant for you.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It was a good escapist book!

What a beautiful written story. Ilse lives in a small cottage in Greenland. She lives with an adoring cat while translating books from English to French or French to English. Here women are expected to marry and have children at an early age. If they do not it seems that people think of them differently and there is often a sense of disappointment from the community and even some family members.

Ilse ends up in Provence to translate a book. France is a culture shock as she hasn’t been outside of Greenland very often. The time Ilse spends in Provence, the people she meets, the warmth she feels for the first time in her life enchanted me. But it is when she gets back to Greenland that she realized who her real love is. There is much more to being a woman and this books shows it. It made me cray and laugh. It also showed me that there is genuinely true love out there.


I will do a longer review of this book in a few weeks.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Random House, especially Megan Whalen for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. This book is a story of Ilse, a translator who lives in Greenland and translates books from many languages. She does not travel, although she longs to see France.She lives in her small village, where her parents and friends live. She is single, although she makes references to a broken relationship in the past. She gets an opportunity to translate the poems of a man who lives in Provence , France. She negotiates to visit the writer and translate with the writer. The poems are meant to be published at the end of August, when the poets son will marry the American editors daughter. Ilse, goes to France, meets the poet and loves the town. She then meets the poets son. A romance of sorts develops. There are turns and twists as Ilse works out what she really needs and wants. I gave it a 2.5 ( rounded up). The writing that described the places Ilse lives and visits is beautiful. It is descriptive and evocative. The story and characterizations are neither of those. They are slow moving, ponderous and flat. There were few likeable characters. There were a lot of character names thrown out, and either never referred to again, or given only a passing nod with little explanation or connection to the story line.If you want to read a travelogue, this may be for you. I realize the bulk of the other reviews glow, but I am writing the dissenting opinion here.

I would like to first thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group — Ballantine Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I greatly appreciate it!

This book came to me precisely when I needed it the most. I saw so much of myself in llse Erlund. Women are expected to marry and have children at an early age, and if not, there’s a sense of disappointment from the community or family or both. This book, however, reminded me that there’s more to a legacy, to a life—more to being a woman—than just having children. "A Northern Light in Provence" is simply a beautiful book, one that literally made me laugh and cry (for minutes!). It reminds one of where “home” truly is (in spite of the hardships from outside forces) and the kind of love that is true and genuine. There’s so many other points that I’d love to share, but it would ultimately spoil the magic of this book. Buy it upon release! You won’t be sorry!

“A Northern Light in Provence” by Elizabeth Birkelund
Translating Life into the language of Words.
This story is so much more than a romance story and so much more than a women’s fiction story. It grabbed my emotions and swept them up and into this story where I lived and grew to love Ilse Erlund. This was not an easy read. I had to take breaks to digest and absorb what I had read and give my emotions time for a bit of recovery. Logically I know she was a fictional character. But I cannot keep from feeling she is real, and, I so very want all that will make the rest of her life a happily ever after. Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest opinion.

Every so often, you open a book and it causes you to forget to breathe. Some alchemy of the author's devotion to craft and beauty and the sheer love of a particular place transforms words into a real, concrete experience. And within a page or two, your heart is compressed so tight, it’s sending signals to your brain that are one half “What just happened?” and one half “You must go experience this for yourself.”

That’s what happened to me in the opening pages of Elizabeth Berkelund’s A Northern Light in Provence. I don’t believe I have ever once considered Greenland as a place I might want to visit, but there I was, gasping for breath and thinking, “And this book is supposed to be about a person going to France. Oh, I can’t *wait* to see how the rest of this book unfolds.”

Ilse’s story begins at the edge of the sea, in a house on stilts, where she is cold and absorbed in her work as a translator of literature. When she gets the chance to translate poetry by the Last Living Troubador of Provence, she decides to go for broke and ask for a trip to Provence to meet with him and absorb the atmosphere.

She leaves one cast of colorful characters behind and falls headlong into another group, distinct and charming in a whole different way, living in another place of exquisite beauty. This is a book that defies genre conventions; it’s a testament to the author’s vision that I wasn’t really sure where she’d end up or who she’d be with by the end. I don't want to spoil anything, so let's just say that not one word in this book goes to waste; everything you see, you will see again, and in a way you didn't expect. Ilse's was a journey I loved from beginning to end. I was sorry to see it end.

I could not put this book down it was SO good! I decided to dedicate my Saturday to it (instead of all the things I needed to do) just to enjoy and be in all the places that she takes us. I loved the juxtaposition of the Arctic and Provence, Ilse's different dreams and the people around her. Though fiction, I felt at home reading about how she navigated all of these and came home with all of those different dreams and people intact. The imagery will stay with me and even makes me think I might want to visit the Arctic (which I never would have considered before!)