"He remembers those he has ferried, including actor Edward G Robinson; Miss Norway 1966, who was declared the most beautiful woman in the nation and won a Fiat 850; and young gay man Jon, who was bullied by his father, then drowned in a car, channelling the Smiths: What a heavenly way to die to die by his lover's side."
"Frieda, Heinrich's sister, treats him like dirt (they're only half-human), but Heinrich's young wife, Kathrin, is charmed, and then some. When she sees him showering outside and they make eye contact, a jolt went through her as if she'd been caught doing something wicked. The story goes inward and outward at once, showing Kathrin and Alexei's claustrophobic relationship, and the social pressures of xenophobia and sexism."
A Norwegian ferryman takes a final solitary trip and recalls the varied passengers he has served, from celebrities to a young gay man who died with his lover. He mourns his late wife Marta, masks inner turmoil beneath a calm surface, and cherishes memories of simple pleasures like a shared play. A wartime German farm brings in a Russian prisoner whose presence ignites a forbidden attraction, exposes xenophobia and sexism, and triggers public shaming and twisting plot developments toward a satisfying conclusion. A third entry names an anthology but its description ends abruptly.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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