Family Ties

Initially, the book revolves around a single family: Jon, Siri, Liv, and Alma. They live in Norway where he is a writer and she is a restaurant owner/chef. Their daughters are very different in age, with almost 8 years separating them. The theme of family ties is illustrated in several instances.

First, there is the original family tie, when Siri was unable to save her brother from drowning, and her mother, Jenny, seemed to blame her for it all of those years. This event shows how family relationships can heal and they can damage and set into motion a course of actions that has ripples and ramifications for decades. It is only in the end that Jenny, nearing death, professes to Siri that she never blamed her for the death of her brother.

Then, there is the death of Milla and her family's anguish at...