An infant is left in a shoebox on the doorstep of Buenos Aires’ Magdalene Monastery and is given the name Fabiola by the nuns. Early in life the rebellious Fabiola develops a propensity for finding the perfect pair of shoes for any given individual. Besides becoming the unlikely top seller of Buenos Aires’ most famous and affluent shoe store, she also – to the nuns’ dismay – becomes a teenage mother to the headstrong girl Lita.
Revolutionary times eventually force the mother and daughter-duo to flee Argentina with their sight set on Europe, but circumstances have them instead end up on a tiny, windswept island in North Foundland. Here Fabiola reluctantly takes up work selling unglamorous wellies and clogs in the island’s general store as they move into the sailor’s home of Bethlehem. Bethlehem, the beating heart of the island, houses a bountiful of eccentric and endearing characters; among them the hosts’ deaf daughter Oona McGregor that becomes Lita’s best friend. As Lita tries to navigate her way in the world it becomes the annual visits by Mr Saito’s traveling cinema – bringing moving pictures from around the world to the isolated isle – that will entirely change the trajectory of her destiny.
Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema is an irresistible odyssey about heart rhythms, fisher boys with amber eyes and finding family in unexpected places. About runaway tango shoes, life’s outtakes and love in all its forms.
“An utterly extraordinary, accomplished and moving love story. /… / A riveting tale about puffins, wellies, tango shoes and quirky characters. I LOVED this novel.”
Litfix, Denmark
“The language is something extraordinary in this novel. It’s bold and rugged, like the surf sweeping against Puffin island, but also musical and challenging like a tango. The metaphors are glorious, the novel is filled with puffins, unrests in the deckhouse, amber in eyes and shoes that in many ways tells something about their owner. It’s a novel with a great love for the outsiders, the misfits, the impossible people that find it hard to make it in the world. They are all given a place in Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema.”
Nordjyske, Denmark
Annette Bjergfeldt (b.1961) is a Danish creative virtuoso. Besides writing bestselling fiction, she’s an award-winning and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and recording artist with six albums under her belt, a colorist painter, and a renowned songwriting coach. She often holds songwriting sessions in local prisons and for children with disabilities. Her knack for storytelling was cultivated when she toured the US for four years and entertained the crowds with tales in between songs. Now, her musical flair shines through in her melodious and lyrical prose.
Her acclaimed debut When Life Gives You Hippos has taken readers and critics alike by storm. This enchanting family saga with elements of magical realism, set against the backdrop of 20th century Europe’s culture scene, is an impassioned declaration of love to art and music.
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