The Aquarium
Anne Cathrine Bomann
A novel about friendship, family and the fear of change – and about the octopus that puts everything into perspective.
Vigga has always felt as though there’s a glass wall between her and the life that people around her are living. Try as she might, she can’t get to the other side – only with her best friend, Maiken, does the wall come down. But when Maiken becomes pregnant, she slowly but surely begins to withdraw from their relationship.
As Maiken’s belly grows, Vigga is assigned a work placement at Denmark’s largest aquarium. There she’s expecting to go through her usual antisocial routine: show up, eat lunch alone, go back home without having spoken to a single person. Six months, then on to the next placement. But when she meets Rosa, an octopus, things begin to shift for Vigga.
ORIGINAL TITLE: Akvariet
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2024
PUBLISHER: Lindhardt & Ringhof
PAGES: 260 pages
READING MATERIAL: Danish edition, English sample translation by Caroline Waight, synopsis, German edition
Rights sold
Denmark: Lindhardt & Ringhof
France (world rights): Éditions La Peuplade
Germany: hanserblau
Hungary: Polar Könyvek
Italy: Iperborea
North America: Book*hug Press
Film/TV Rights
Available
reviews
“The Aquarium is about breaking away and starting over – even when you're very afraid of change. Why it's still worth jumping over your own shadow – this quiet, profound novel tells that story. Bomann's story sticks in the reader's memory – like the suckers of an octopus.”
NDR HF KULTUR
“A clever little novel with very touching moments, whose many narrative subplots steer themselves like the tentacles of an octopus.”
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG
“Anne Cathrine Bomann portrays a young woman who doesn't feel at home among other people, with warmth and understanding. And tells of the love for an octopus so that it goes straight to the heart.”
INFORMATION
“With disarming simplicity, Anne Cathrine Bomann offers a precious opportunity to reflect, with generosity, on our ways of loving and being loved, on our openness to change and what shapes our identities in the currents of life.”
LE DEVOIR
“For all readers of good novels. A novel with a universal theme and psychologically nuanced character portraits. A captivating read on multiple fronts.”
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE
“Bomann tells with deep empathy how perspectives shift. A story about personal growth, as captivating as it is moving.”
EMOTION
“Well-dosed are the words that Bomann finds for a fine, slow approach, simple and beautiful. With The Aquarium she has written a novel about the deep longing for belonging, about understanding and self-compassion, acceptance and letting go.”
MÜNCHNER MERKUR
“As a quiet and profound novel, The Aquarium tells of how it can be worthwhile to jump over your own shadow. The protagonist's thoughts, feelings, and gained insights touch and show with ease how, amid moving challenges, breaking away and new beginnings can emerge.”
WESTDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG
“A profound, sensitive story about people.”
LANDGANG
“The text is empathetic and unsentimental, longing, emptiness and pain are taken seriously. One gladly follows it, thinks along, feels along and also learns a lot.”
PROZ MAGAZIN BASEL
“Profound and beastly good!”
TINA MONTHLY
“Captivating storytelling.”
WOMAN, Germany
“Simply beautiful!”
FREUNDIN
“A tender book: The Danish bestselling author lets the young, overwhelmed Vigga meet octopus lady Rosa. An unusual encounter that changes both.”
ELLE, Germany