Linda Olsson's "The Memory of Love," the movie

Now showing at My Book, The Movie: The Memory of Love by Linda Olsson.

The entry begins:

Because I write in English, rather than my native Swedish, I often get the question: When you write, do you think in English or in Swedish? I always reply that I don’t think in words, I think in pictures. Now, as two of my novels are under option to be made into films, it is a little like waiting for the re-make: I have already seen the original.

The Memory of Love was written here in New Zealand where I have lived for over twenty years. I have not severed the links with my native country, though, and it returns in my books, too. In The Memory of Love, one of the two main characters, Marion, was born in Åland, a cluster of islands in the Baltic, now a province of Finland. Like my character, I have fond memories of childhood summers there. Marion moves to Stockholm, where I was born and lived for almost forty years, and then on to London where I came to live for a few years in the late 80’s. And, just like me, she ends up in New Zealand. But unlike me, Marion settles in a remote, desolate place on the west coast. So, place is a central part of the casting of my film, in fact I think it is one of the main characters.

Marion is a woman without proper roots. She is insular and comes across as self-contained, I think. But she carries a weighty emotional burden. The little boy she encounters one day, Ika, is in many ways similar to Marion, shy and introvert, with poor social skills. But unlike Marion, he dares to reach out. When he physically throws himself in Marion’s way one day, his act comes to trigger an emotional journey for both of them.

In the background, there is George, a man whose life has been put on hold since the death of his wife. It is when he, too, gets pulled into Marion’s and Ika’s world that his life finally stirs again.

Here is my dream casting for the film based on The Memory of Love:

Marion -- Lena Endre

Swedish actress who...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Linda Olsson's website.

Olsson's previous novels are Astrid & Veronika and Sonata for Miriam.

The Page 69 Test: Sonata for Miriam.

My Book, The Movie: The Memory of Love.

--Marshal Zeringue