Liberating to Keep One's Core in Death's Waiting Room

Kjersti Anfinnsen's "Dödsverk" (Death Works) concludes the trilogy centered on surgeon Birgitte Solheim, depicting her final days in a hospice. The novel, translated by Marie Lundquist and published by Flo förlag, finds Birgitte blind and awaiting death, a stark contrast to her previously vibrant career.

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In the last part of the trilogy about surgeon Birgitte, Kjersti Anfinnsen places her on her deathbed.

Anfinnsen's narrative, presented in a confessional or diary-like style with uniquely titled paragraphs, delves into Birgitte's unvarnished perspective. She is characterized as sharp, intelligent, and often harsh, seemingly ready to end her life. Her diminishing will to live and increasing desire for death are palpable.

However, a shift occurs when Birgitte begins an online relationship with Javiér, a man her own age, and finds solace in interactions with other men, including Parisian hairdressers and café owners. Regular online conversations with her younger sister, Elisabeth, also provide a form of life elixir, marked by their characteristic teasing.

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She is literally in death's waiting room, knowing she will not leave this place alive.

The review contrasts Birgitte's state with that of Leonard Woolf in his 1967 autobiography, "Downhill all the way." Woolf, writing in his 80s, displays a clear-sighted elegance and the long perspective of a life lived. This contrasts sharply with Birgitte's profound weariness and her fictional existence, which the reviewer initially found more of a literary construct than a fully realized character.

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She is sharp, smart, funny, mean – and I imagine she is quite deeply depressed, done with life.