Historical novel set around CAIRO 1099CE
Historical fiction set in HAUGESUND, Norway (and London)
3rd October 2025
The Silent Resistance by Anna Normann, historical fiction set in Haugesund, Norway (and London).
The Silent Resistance by Anna Normann begins in the later years of the Second World War. The story follows the fortunes of Anni Odland and her daughter Ingrid amid the deprivation and fear of wartime in a small coastal town in Norway. Ingrid’s father, Lars is a fisherman who has joined the merchant navy and has been at sea for four years. Anni runs a creche and does her best to make ends meet, while secretly helping the Norwegian resistance. Ingrid ‘s grandmother, Guri Odland, known as Besta, keeps goats and chickens on her nearby farm. They are all doing their best to survive until the war ends and the life that they once knew can resume.
The community of Haugesund consists of farmers and fishermen. Most of the farm produce is commandeered by the occupying Nazi forces and the sailing fleet has left port for safer waters until the war is over. Local townspeople are frightened, hungry and wary of doing anything to incur the wrath of the occupiers.
The story then jumps forward in time to a teenage Ingrid, who is living in London with her father and step mother. Although outwardly happy, she wonders what became of her mother, Anni. The novel then intersperses episodes from Ingrid’s wartime childhood in Norway with more recent chapters, which tell of her quest to find Anni. Gradually the events of the intervening years are revealed, both to the reader and to Ingrid herself.
The Silent Resistance is a tale of trust and betrayal in which characters’ decisions could change their whole lives. They face dilemmas on the scale of Sophie’s Choice, where one misstep or wrong turn could bring everything they know and love crashing about them. I felt that the book was enjoyable to start with, though almost half of it is dedicated to setting out the background. I enjoyed the second half more, where the pace picks up and Ingrid’s investigation begins to make progress. It then began to dawn on me why the first half kept me guessing! The book’s characters are well-rounded and interesting and the threat that hangs over Haugesund is especially vivid as the book progresses.
The locations are outlined rather than poetically described, but that seems in keeping with the wartime theme – everything is pared back to its bare bones. It’s almost as though the authors (for this is a joint enterprise!) give us glimpses through the curtains of the homes of the characters as they fearfully observe their surroundings.
And speaking of joint authors, this book is a collaboration between Indian Anan Singh and Norwegian Natalie Normann, and it is their first written in English. I’m afraid it is slightly eccentric English, at that. There are some linguistic infelicities that rather spoil my concentration in places. There are words that seem too modern for a wartime book and some that are American English which isn’t appropriate for characters who have learnt their English in England. But that’s probably just me! Don’t let it put you off reading what is a suspenseful and fascinating story that certainly teaches a lot about life in occupied Norway.
Sue for the TripFiction Team
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