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The most high-profile winner of the International Dublin IMPAC Literary Award after Pamuk, and the annual best book of many authoritative European and American media; with a hard core and rich layers, it sinks into the hearts of readers like a rock. Per Patterson (1952-) is one of the most famous contemporary Norwegian writers and a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He once worked as a librarian, printer, bookseller, and translator. He gradually rose to prominence after publishing his first collection of short stories in 1987. A pair of childhood friends reunited by chance in the autumn morning, which brought back the memories they shared thirty-five years ago. Tommy's mother suddenly ran away from home, and his father soon abandoned them too. As a result, Tommy was separated from his sisters and adopted by different families. His good friend Jim lives with his devout mother. Tommy and Jim accompanied and supported each other through the difficult but innocent teenage years, and then drifted apart after entering high school, until different fateful encounters eroded their friendship. Today, Jim is fishing alone on the bridge, and Tommy drives by him in a brand new sports car. Following the experiences of the two men on this day, mixed with the pain of past events and memories, we watch as their fates once again rush towards a new reality. This book is another masterpiece that shows the depth of Per Patterson's writing. With his inspiring writing style, he builds a cold and quiet escape for readers in the bustling world.

Alvey Janssen's life was like a mess. His parents and brother were killed in a shipwreck. Misfortunes never come singly. His wife Tuli filed for divorce and took away his three daughters. A year later, Alvey still failed to recover from the blow. He wandered the streets in a daze, anesthetizing himself in alcohol, women and long driving. "Of course I can pretend that I don't feel pain, that's my specialty." But the dull pain brewed more and more intensely in the city center at midnight and in the Mazda at dawn. When the short-term happiness and the long-lasting pain were closely intertwined, he tried to hold on to something, but he could not simply abandon the past and face the future. The bleak life was going to go on, but an unexpected phone call from his ex-wife Tuli dragged Alvi out of the water and forced him to face all the things life had brought to him. As consciousness repeatedly wanders between memories and reality, the pain gradually emerges from the paper, cruel but hard to let go. "I must save myself." But this time, how should he save himself?