Emily Forever. Maria Navarro Skaranger

Emily is nineteen and pregnant, and Pablo, the father of the child, seems unwilling to take any further part in her life. And already in her medical record, the term "single mother" appears like a sentence. Emily's mother also raised her daughter alone, and now she is moving in with her to help around the house. Emily continues to work at the grocery store until the last moment, and almost every person in her life, from her boss to the neighbor priest, strives to support her in some way, seeing her as such an unhappy, such a fragile poor thing, Emily. "Emily Forever" is a novel about social inequality, everyday life, and the search for something that could help come to terms with that everyday life. The omniscient and omnipresent narrator tells the story of Emily's life, never missing a chance to insert an ironic comment or delve into the mind of one of the characters to see Emily as they do — those who are sure they know her, believe they know how her entire future life will unfold. The book by a young Norwegian writer is infused with a stubborn, sometimes paradoxical love for life, subtle humor, a spirit of indomitable unity, and an ongoing, albeit sometimes invisible, struggle.