The Girl Between

February 20, 2017
Stromme takes the reader on a journey to late-19th-century Norway as she weaves a tale of the inspiration for Edvard Munch’s famed painting, The Scream. Johanne Lien has lived her entire life in the small community of Asgardstrand. During the summer when she is 16, her family rents out their home and lives in a fisherman’s hut while Johanne works as a maid for the wealthy Ihlen family and paints. She develops a special friendship with Tullik, one of the Ihlen family’s daughters. But Johanne is torn between completing her duties as a maid and following the edicts of Tullik, who demands that Johanne accompany her to the house of painter Edvard Munch. Though Johanne enjoys the respite from her job and embraces the visits to Munch’s home so that she can work on her painting, she is worried about the romantic relationship developing between Tullik and Edvard, who is married to his art. As Johanne helps hide the paintings that Edvard gives Tullik, she is coping with her own budding sexuality. Stromme expertly weaves real historical figures into this well-crafted novel which explores the nature of obsessive love and the possible inspiration for The Scream.

February 15, 2017
Could Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream be a labor of love? First-time novelist Strmme imagines a summer romance between the artist and a young society lady, caught up in an all-consuming passion that threatens to engulf them both. The affair is seen from the perspective of Johanne, the young lady's housemaid and an admirer of the artists who come to paint in her town of Asgardstrand, Norway. Munch is widely regarded by the townsfolk as a madman, but, despite the danger, Johanne is drawn to him, and he even assists her in her burgeoning attempts at painting. While Strmme capably unfurls the narrative, Johanne's involvement in the lovers' livesthe subject of a painting as a girl, a budding artist herself, and the sudden bosom companion of her employerstretches credulity. Nonetheless, the story offers a window into the atmosphere surrounding Munch as he created his art, and Johanne's observations of her mistress capture the beguiling fierceness that so entices Munch. With careful, loving attention, Strmme transforms Munch's sketches and paintings into messages of longing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)