A review by sharkybookshelf
Stay with Me by Hanne Ørstavik

4.0

A year after the death of her husband, the narrator falls in love with a man fifteen years younger - it’s an intense connection, but one laced with insecurity…

I really appreciate Ørstavik’s writing - it’s emotionally astute without being overly sentimental - and I enjoyed this exploration of a darker side of love and relationships. Tackling a complicated and complex subject, it’s an introspective dive into how our childhood and resulting insecurities shape us and our approach to relationships, the way we love, and crucially, what we accept as love. There’s an undercurrent of fear and violence throughout.

The narrator is an author and the story jumps between hers and the characters she is writing, as well as between her childhood and present. It felt a bit jumbled together, which does reflect the messiness of real life, particularly when abuse is involved, but it was a lot for my tired brain when I follow and I found myself a little confused at times.

Reading Ti Amo before this one isn’t necessary as Stay With Me stands up on its own, but it does give some context to the narrator’s previous relationship and emotional landscape.

A charged, introspective exploration of how our childhood and insecurities affect our approach to relationships and acceptance of love.