There were not enough chairs, and in the end there was not enough floor either. More than 200 readers crowded into a small bookstore in the old quarter of a neighboring country’s capital on Saturday evening to hear Mira Halvorsen read from the translated edition of her novel “The Salt Ledger,” and staff had to close the doors half an hour before the event began.
The novel, published at home two years ago, follows three generations of a ferry-operating family in Port Alden, from the busy postwar harbor to the quieter years after the shipyards closed. It has now been translated into four languages, and the new edition sold out its first print run within a week.
Reading in two languages
Halvorsen read the opening chapter in her own language before her translator, Anton Merel, read the same passage in the local one. The audience, a mix of students, retired dockworkers and expatriates from Halvorsen’s home country, laughed at the same lines in both versions.
I thought a story about one harbor would only make sense to people who know it. It turns out every port city has its own Salt Ledger family.
Mira Halvorsen, author
In the conversation that followed, readers asked about the real streets behind the fictional ones, about the ferry captain who inspired the main character and about whether a sequel is coming. Halvorsen confirmed she is working on a second book, set on the same waterfront but in the present day.
A small publisher’s big bet
The translation was published by a small independent house that specializes in literature from the region. Its founder, Klara Desmet, said she had expected perhaps 60 people.
“We printed 2,000 copies, which for a translated novel is ambitious,” she said. “We are now ordering a second run.”
The launch was supported by the country’s embassy, which is promoting contemporary literature abroad as part of a cultural program running until the end of the year. Halvorsen continues to two other cities next week before returning home for a reading at the Port Alden library in December.
Bookstore owner Sebastian Rook said it was the busiest evening the shop had seen in years. “People bought the book, then stayed to talk about it until midnight. That is the best thing that can happen to a bookstore.”
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