Reviews

• “Following her success with When Life Gives You Hippos, Annette Bjergfeldt has us impressed with her second novel that invites its readers along for another spectacular world tour. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt made her debut with When Life Gives You Hippos in 2020 and rarely has a Danish novelist made such a compelling entrance on the literary scene. It can’t have been an easy task to follow up the adventurous debut with a second novel – but with Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema Bjergfeldt fortunately succeeds in creating just as colorful a universe and an equally enjoyable gallery of characters as in her debut. /…/ As a cinephile I can’t but rejoice in Bjergfeldt’s enchanting descriptions of the early moviemaking magic. /…/ It’s a classic coming-of-age take, yet there is nothing classic about Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema. (…) The novel is painted in broad strokes and yet Bjergfeldt always have an eye for the small details – the beauty of the moment, as Lita and Oona calls it, as they head out on their own odyssey with Mr Saito’s traveling cinema. Bjergfeldt is adept at sketching out the character portrayals with precision and lingual abundance. (…) But she is also skilled at portraying all of life’s emotions – from the greatest happiness to Lita’s most profound heartbreak. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt cannot possibly have experienced all that the novel’s protagonists go through, but her portrayals comes across as real, lived lives and as reader you’re immersed in it from first word to last wave splash.”

• “An utterly extraordinary, accomplished and moving love story. /…/ A riveting tale about puffins, wellies, tango shoes and quirky characters. I LOVED this novel.”

• “The language is something extraordinary in this novel. It’s bold and rugged, like the surf sweeping against Puffin island, but also musical and challenging like a tango. The metaphors are glorious, the novel is filled with puffins, unrests in the deckhouse, amber in eyes and shoes that in many ways tells something about their owner. It’s a novel with a great love for the outsiders, the misfits, the impossible people that find it hard to make it in the world. They are all given a place in Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema.”

• “It’s rare that I feel like throwing all stars and hearts at a book, because there’s always something that could be done better or differently. But I am utterly unreserved about Annette Bjergfeldt’s new novel, Mr. Saito’s Traveling Cinema. It deserves all the praise it can get. /…/ This story is delightfully rich in imagery, wondrous and beautifully human. /…/ I’m a good crier, am easily moved and I’m not the least bit ashamed when my eyes pour over. But all in moderation. That doesn’t apply here however, I’ve never sobbed as much to a book as I have to this one! Quietly, beautifully and softly. (…) [Annette Bjergfeldt] achieves to move me and to have me immersed in Lita’s vast and profound emotions; the longing for love, the break ups, loss and the dreams of getting away. /…/ Sometimes you read a book that you’d rather have never end, Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema is just that kind of book.”

• “If you’re only to read one book, [make it this one]. An utterly magical story that will engulf you completely. Here is a scent of John Irving and a flavour of Isabel Allende, as there is simply no way to predict what will happen as you turn the page, and puffins, northern lights, tattoos, raging preachers, tango music, film strips and the sounds of beating hearts all come pouring out. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt writes with a fantastic ardour and a linguistic joy, that goes straight to the heart. Ahh, how once rejoices in getting to follow Lita’s life on the tiny island with the extraordinary lives.”

• “The linguistic wit and the quirky characters are both wild and brilliant in Annette Bjergfeldt’s imaginative love story. /…/ The novel is structured as ‘A love story in seven waves’ and one notes from the very first wave on (…) that this is a funny, imaginative tale made to laugh at and with. /…/ Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema portrays in a wild and imaginative way a girl’s transition from adolescence to adulthood. (…) It made me laugh out loud on several occasions.”

• “When [Annette Bjergfeldt] writes, she does so with a South American, Isabel Allende-resonance. (…) She balances on the embankment between realism and the magical and the kneads her novels with profound emotions.”

• “A real charmer of a novel! With Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema Annette Bjergfeldt has written a narrative, that goes straight to the heart of those who love adventure and passion. Every single line of the 444 pages is a linguistic firework in all of the rainbow’s colours – along with a couple more that you have yet to experience. Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema is a good vying candidate for the best Danish publication of the year. Annette Bjergfeldt is exceptionally talented and writes with both head and heart, wit and bite and a mood that’s more effectively contagious than happy pills.”

• “Annette Bjergfeldt is a talented storyteller and her imaginative and adventurous book is written with heart and a heavy dose of witty humour in a blend of magic and realism, sorrow and love. It’s not a classic feel-good novel, but in spite of some harsh fates, it’s filled with humour and stories that brings out the smile. The gallery of characters and the atmosphere brings the thought to John Irving’s The Hotel New Hampshire.”

• “Rarely have I been as entertained as when reading Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema – a spirited and absolutely wonderful story! /…/ The book is imaginative, alluring, magical and adventurous (…) it’s the way  that the story is told in that creates the sparks and fireworks. The tales literary leap out of every page and shimmers delightfully towards its readers. /…/ A stunning novel, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on – a giant vitamin pill that leaves the blood running faster and the readers smiling.”

• “The divine Annette Bjergfeldt blows the reader away yet again. An inimitable style, characters to fall in love with, passions deep as the ocean, fishing boats, tango and cinema. Annette Bjerfeld’s new novel is unlike anything else we’ve read. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt narrates with an irresistible combination of passion and laughter. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt’s novel awakens yearnings, makes the heart light and ignites the imagination. It creates a desire to find common ground and share one’s life with people of godlike beauty. It gazes first into the nightmare of divisions and evil cruelty, and then it flutters boldly and pushes all the furniture out of all the rooms to make room for the biggest aviary with the widest open doors, where the heart can fly free and sing.”

• “Annette Bjergfeldt has an exceptional sense for highlighting the importance of intangible things, emphasizing the connection between life periods, people, animals and the environment. /…/ The poetic setting of the fictitious island off Nova Scotia is just as perfectly captured. (…) While reading, one has a hundred urges to go to Fabiola’s to buy shoes, go to Mr. Saito’s screenings and listen to recordings of heartbeats at the vet, and stay in the twenty-four-room at the sailor’s rest. The novel will most definitely entertain those who like to dwell in stories and experience adventure, passion, sensuality and dreams in them. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt shows an immense amount of empathy for the soul of every character, demonstrating that life encompasses everything: the beautiful and the less beautiful, disappointments, joys and caroms. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt’s style is characterized by surprising word combinations (…) Musicality and a unique soundscape are evident in her distinctive and vivid language. Her imagination and expressions are exceptional, full of new metaphors (…), new word formations, puns and other layered expressions.”

• “Magical realism in a wonderful language. One can tell the author is also a musician.”

• “Danish writer Annette Bjergfeldt puts you in dancing shoes in her captivating novel Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema, and in the rhythm of her tango you can hear how human hearts beat when they are hot. It is a story about a life as stormy as the Atlantic, fickle as the weather, about growing up, about love and kindness more beautiful than in any movie. /…/ Mr Saito’s  Traveling Cinema is a charming story about the human passion for life, about crossings with other hearts and about migratory birds. This book about the joy of existing is a delight to read, thanks to the author’s zest for life, it will grab you from the first page to the last.”

• “A strong and original story à la John Irving or Gabriel Garcia Márquez. Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema is a fun and magical tale about restless tango shoes, life’s escapades and love in all its forms. /…/ Annette is a great storyteller who plays with colors, smells and tastes. A beautifully human story, adventurous and infectious. The wit and warmth will get under your skin, improve your mood and induce feelings of happiness.”

• “I have no idea how Annette Bjergfeldt does it, but once again she has managed to create a story full of kindness, humanity and love that is hard to leave… /…/ [O]nce you fall under its spell, one of the most beautiful books of this year awaits you. /…/ It’s its quirky characters that give the whole story its captivating charm. There isn’t a single person you won’t fall in love with. /…/ I absolutely love the quirky details that are woven into the story, like the conception to the rhythm of the dance, the local vet’s collection of heartbeats, Lita’s collection of fathers, Fabiola’s obsession with shoes, the mysterious Mr Saito and many others. I kept thinking – where is this woman going? This is simply brilliant! Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema hides a world that you will fall in love with and not want to leave, a world that will completely enchant you and where you will find charm, tenderness and wisdom. Annette is simply love.”

• “ I was so carried away by the story that I almost couldn’t put the book down. Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema is an absolutely breathtaking novel full of rhytms, life, love and self-denials, as well as incredible experiences. (…) It is written with such ease that you simply don’t want to leave this story and just keep on devouring its pages in anticipation of what will happen next. /…/ Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema is full of wonderful words and moments, there are also sad, even dramatic moments that will make you shiver, but there are also totally unexpected funny passages that will be sure to amuse you. It’s a story about life and all that it encompasses and I can only tell you one thing about it: read it, you’ll love it! (…) The story reminded me of Chocolate by Joanne Harris. They have a few elements in commmon, but mainly both novels are filled to the brim with zest for life.

   

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• “I believe I have found the ‘book of the year’ in this quirky tale. /…/ Reading Annette Bjergfeldt’s flow of words is like sweet music, that plays to make the book come alive, in an imaginative, playful language. With featherlike steps Lita, Fabiola and the rest of the inhabitants of Upper Puffin will dance their way straight into your heart.”

• “I recommend the magical Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema. /…/ [Protagonist] Lita is a storyteller par excellence. Through her story, you will feel part of the islanders’ life and likely make islands like this Nova Scotia one a dream travel destination.”

• “I read Mr. Saito’s Traveling Cinema during a a fortnight and it wasn’t because I couldn’t manage to read the less than five hundred paged faster, on the contrary – I wanted my visit to Upper Puffin Island to last for as long as possible. /…/ I guarantee that you will fall in love with these island characters, just as you will with Annette Bjergfeldt’s magic way with words.”

• “Let me tell you, this novel drew me in like the moon pulls at the tides. /…/ This novel sings blissfully, the sounds bubbling out of the letters like love that’s boiling and hearts that are melting. /…/ Hide your happy pills, forget about the hissing everyday and savour this literary power demonstration. /…/ There are few people out there that make me rejoice, laugh and cry and there are few books, that accomplish those very things, so thank you to Bjergfeldt and Mr Saito for making my heart wag its tail and my lips smile.”

• “I was impressed by Annette Bjergfeldt’s approach to her characters, that are portrayed as quirky and whimsical, but all the same with great empathy and love. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt depicts the milieus on the windswept islands beautifully and immersively. As the reader you’re quickly gripped by the atmosphere of equal parts beautiful nature and somewhat claustrophobic scenery. Annette truly achieves to write with humour and particularly succeeds in depicting the quirky and funny in the small details.”

• “A heartwarming novel about the will to live.”

• “Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema has got it all. There is love, humour and gravity. Annette Bjergfeldt is a fantastic storyteller. She has this way with words, where the story simply flows, and one finds oneself extremely entertained along the way.

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• “The Argentinean girl Lita and her tango-dancing mother brings us from Buenos Aires to a North American island in a whirlwind of imaginative tales and an adventurous language. The story is filled with quirky characters, not the least Lita’s imaginary revolutionary friend, Egg, and it is the love for the unique local community that binds it all together. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire journey.”

• “A magical and scintillating novel filled with an array of charming characters.”

• “John Irving, Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez have gotten themselves a Danish little sister. It’s Annette Bjergfeldt that with her novels takes on the baton from some of the world’s most imaginative authors. I much enjoyed her debut (…) but her new novel Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema gave me pure reader’s delight. /…/ Annette Bjergfeldt’s writing style is exuberant, scintillating and serenades your mind. The contrast between Lita’s mother, the Argentine sensual, and the wooden shoe-loving Canadian fishermen is terrifically portrayed. Vividly colourful houses dipped in ship’s paint, a rocky harbour filled with sea boathouses, fish guts, overalls and seagull shit are all detailed in a way that triggers all your senses and I tango-danced my way through all the book’s pages. Lita’s journey into adult life is not without challenges. The novel is not simply a colourful adventure, but also revolves around seeking affirmation from your mother and about missing a father. About being an odd bird, but staying true to yourself. This story is recommended for everyone, in need of some warmth in the winter darkness.”

• “Marvelous! What else can one say about Annette Bjergfeldt’s new book Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema. It is marvelous. There’s of course plenty more to be said about it, but what a tremendous joy it has been to dive into this book about the girl Lita that grows up with her beautiful, but rebellious mother Fabiola. /…/ The coming-of-age tale of Lita is simply so beautiful. In love and grief we become utterly immersed in this place with a beating heart for friendship, infatuation and that particular realization that occurs in the borderland between childhood and adulthood. The novel is written is such a stunning, sensual and present way that once you approach the final pages, you find yourself reading slower and slower to squeeze out the last drop of wonderful atmosphere.”

• “Annette Bjergfeldt writes with exuberant energy and ingenuity about the characters and eccentrics that [protagonists] Lita and Fabiola are surrounded by. (…) A stunning portrayal of the victims claimed by the ocean and the return of Oona’s hearing stand out as brilliant highlights in the novels. /…/ The magic arises, when the light falls on a person, says [cinema-keeper] Mr Saito, and the magical light does indeed fall on him, the girls – and the book itself.”

• “Our vote for the best Danish novel of the year. /…/ The novel is picturesquely portrayed, so vividly that I’m speechless at the fact that Upper Puffin Island does not exist in real life. /…/ It’s not an understatement to say that I loved Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema. I loved it, as it’s astoundingly well-written. I loved it, as in its world every aspect of life truly matters. Most of all, I loved it, as it made me feel seen and heard. /…/ Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema receives 6 out of 6 stars. It’s exceptional, eminently well-written and draws us into worlds that the privileged few are granted access to. I look forward to immersing myself in the world of Upper Puffin Island yet again, and even more so to read more books by Annette Bjergfeldt.”

• “Annette Bjergfeldt’s second novel invites its readers along for yet another breathtaking world tour, now in the company of Lita, who was conceived in an intimate tango and then grows up among puffins, apparitions, lethal ocean conditions and the traveling cinema of the aforementioned title on the isolated Upper Puffin Island. A fantastic, fateful tale about adventure and love in unexpected places, told in a fabulous language that will infuse the dark winter days with light and colours.”