Encircling 3: Aftermath

The Encircling Trilogy comes thundering to a close as the man at the center is revealed


The final book in Carl Frode Tiller’s groundbreaking Encircling Trilogy is here. In Barbara Haveland’s powerful translation, two new letters circle closer than ever to David, who allegedly lost his memory. One is from Marius, who has led the life of wealth and privilege that David was meant to live. And yet Marius does not appreciate it—desperate for attention, he lies to his girlfriend, with disastrous consequences. The other comes from Susanne, an ex-lover whose affair with David led to the breakup of her marriage. Humiliated by David’s unflattering portrayal of her in his novel, Susanne is determined to exact revenge on him in the most painful possible way.

Last of all we come face-to-face with David himself: a frustrated writer whose early successes have faded. His therapy sessions seem to reveal a dangerous and violent individual bent on getting what he wants at any cost. With David’s own story told, the last piece falls into place, and his true character is unveiled. But as with books one and two, there are twists and turns that upset expectations and leave the reader wondering whom to believe. Across three books, Tiller’s incisive character portraits lay bare the inequalities of class and excesses of wealth in Norwegian society. With Encircling 3: Aftermath, Tiller sounds the unexplored depths of David’s life, in the culmination of this astonishing feat of psychological realism.