‘This novel, which might so easily be another tale about the debris of a broken couple, is more like the picture of two existences which, one day, sees their relationship skid dramatically off course … the narrator captures the essence of life.’ Le Monde, France
The surprise hidden within Silence in October is the unexpected power of the style … [this is] proof of Flaubert’s contention that a novel should be carried by the style and not the events … The majestic handling of powerful emotions makes this a great book.’ NRC Handelsblad. Netherlands
‘Linguistically precise and psychologically astute. Grøndahl deals with an almost forgotten subject that was a theme first for dramas and then for small talk in the Seventies, and is still as fascinating a subject as ever: the midlife crisis.’ Der Spiegel, Germany
‘Aided by long and highly well-wrought thought processes, packed with wisdom, inserted associations [and] eminent observations, the author manages to express the sky-high expectations of love that we have in this day and age, in such a refreshing manner that the thoughts seem new.’ Faedrelandsvennen, Norway
‘I wouldn’t hesitate to call Silence in October one of the best novels of the year. It is a book which dares to wrestle with the great drama which exists within us all. From the tiny perspective: a man, his wife and their children, something great emerges which touches each and every one of us.’ Länstidningen Södertälje, Sweden
Jens Christian Grøndahl’s ninth novel presents still further variations on those themes which crop up throughout his work: mankind’s journey through time and space, our romantic entanglements, the power and the impotence of words … The writing style is masterly and quite superb; seriously virulent and searingly precise. Grøndahl’s existential romance will ram squarely in the solar plexus of all those who have just once grown faint at the thought of how little it would take to turn one’s life upside-down.’ Eksta Bladet, Denmark
‘A culmination of the literature of the 1990s … Grøndahl is brilliantly in command of his novel. In evenly paced, abundantly flowing sentences he recounts one story, then another not unlike the first, moving forward, then back, to Copenhagen, Lisbon, Paris, New York – but still, at all times, the narrative is tightly controlled and the suspense never lets up … Silence in October is one of those novels destined to characterise the Nineties.’ Politiken, Denmark
‘Grøndahl’s meticulous dissection of psychological nuance has won him comparisons with Marcel Proust. Through an accumulation of brilliantly rendered detail, Silence in October builds up the contours of a fictional world as flickering and vivid as life itself.’ The Australian