When I bought this book last week in my local Waterstones, the sales assistant told me how much she’d loved reading it and it would make me cry. Well yes, there is sadness here, but it’s also wonderfully life affirming. The novel is a kind of meditation on life, told by ferryman Nils Vik as he sets sail for the last time in his boat across the Norwegian fjord that has been his home for his whole life. He knows this will be his last day on earth and he meets all the people who have been important to him: passengers, family, friends and, most important of all, his wife Marta.

‘Over the fjord he goes … This is how his last day begins. Standing at the wheel , listening to the past ... ‘ He wonders, ‘Is that the dead coming through the openings of the forest? Yes, here they come.’

When the book opens we see Nils tidying his house, throwing things away, leaving it ready for his daughters when he’s gone. He even burns his mattress: ‘The mattress told the story of his entire life. It felt too private to allow other people … to deal with their past.’

On his journey, Nils is accompanied by the ghost (although the word ‘ghost’ is never used) of his old, faithful dog, Luna, who talks to him. Nils picks up dead people on his way, people who have made an impact on his life in some way: passengers going to work, going to church; doctors and midwives; teachers; young lovers; unhappy kids. He also meets his troubled younger brother, and he remembers his daughters (still alive). His boat provides a ‘little waiting room in time for people‘ who open themselves to him. He provides a calm and compassionate presence to others and the author has created this character so well, we too, as readers, are drawn to him: a man both very ordinary and very special.

We see both Nils’ joys and his challenges as he revisits his journey through life. And what of Marta? The ‘wife’ in the title? This is a relationship which gives him both joy and challenge.

This is a wonderful read. The writing is beautiful, lyrical, and the story is a profound telling of life itself, its ups and downs; the ordinariness of life and its uniqueness in every living soul.