Before you sleep

Before you sleep. Before You Sleep is the story of the eccentric and formidable women of the Blom family, moving from present-day Oslo to Brooklyn in the 1930s. Its narrator, Karin Blom, aged thirty, is wry, witty and candid. She introduces us to Julie, her sad sister, a wife and mother nearly destroyed by her husband's infidelity; their mother, Anni, the irresistible seductress; and their bad Aunt Selma, who drinks to stay mean and eats little girl's ears for breakfast. In a family saga sparkling with wisdom, acuity and style, Linn Ullman explores the emotional terrain of marriage and motherhood with a wicked humour and a tender eye for human frailty. Her marvellously accomplished and assured debut, already an international bestseller, unfolds with her sweep and colour of a symphony, and heralds the arrival of a mature and gifted literary talent.