Where the Water Leads: Love and Memory in The Ferryman and His Wife

Written by: Nancy C.

The Ferryman and His Wife, written by Norwegian writer Frode Grytten and translated into English by Alison McCullough, is a tale that will likely stay with you long after you close the book for the last time.

The story is about a man’s final day of life, a date he has chosen and welcomes gratefully and one which offers him a contemplative perspective of his time on earth. Nils Vik has been a ferryman for his entire life, shuttling people across the fjord from the countryside to the big city and back again. The fjord is the blood in his veins, the breath in his lungs and the beat of his heart. He is only ever truly himself when he is on his beloved boat, a relationship that has sometimes caused friction in his domestic life. But the boat is also the heartbeat of the community and, as its pilot, Nils has taken many, many meaningful journeys across the fjord with almost every person in the community. He’s witnessed the highs and lows, the secrets and the celebrations, all the while being the steady hand at the helm of people’s hearts and minds.

On this, his last day, he is joined immediately by his long deceased dog, Luna, who journeys with him on this final epic trip. Along the way, other friends and family who, too, have predeceased Nils join him, and we soon get a perspective of how much he loved and was loved in return. But the thread through all of the stories is his cherished wife Marta, the person he desperately hopes will walk with him across to the other side.

Despite what you may think based on the plot, the story is not maudlin or depressing—rather, it is a celebratory look at the life of an ordinary man whose kindness of spirit made him extraordinary.