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Anne Egseth
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This Is All He Asks of You Kindle Edition

by Anne Egseth (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 110 ratings
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Spanning Norway, Washington DC and Greece, This Is All He Asks of You is a visionary story about letters never sent, life once flowing and now frozen, swim-flying in golden light and the beauty of human connection. Above all, it is a story about how sad it would be if everything became like everything else.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    152 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Roundfire Books
  5. Publication date
    May 29, 2020
  6. File size
    510 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review


'Anne Egseth's captivating epistolary novel This Is All He Asks of You is about growing up and finding light in the darkness. Her language is a highlight, packing a great deal of meaning into a limited word count. Each word precise and evocative. Much is implied, and the text is resonant for its openness. This is All He Asks Of You is a stirring metaphysical novel about exploring life, loss, and spirituality.' 5 Stars -Forward Reviews Magazine


'If you liked Where The Crawdads Sing, you'll love this story on human connection. It's incredibly unique in its storytelling and captivates you from the start.' The Glitter Guide Online Magazine.


'Anne Egseth's first novel, This Is All He Asks of You, is a coming of age story for all ages. It is poignant, profound, and beautifully written. Egseth's style is suitably simple for an adolescent narrator, yet subtle enough to capture the nuances of one awakening to the spark of the divine within all things. This is All He Asks of You is luminous.' Gerald R Stanek, Visionary Fiction Alliance. 'In the midst of hard times it is refreshing to discover beautiful little treats like THIS IS ALL HE ASKS OF YOU. It is sweet and poignant. You lose yourself to the flighty ruminations of the narrator. The language is clean and poetic without coming off as striving too hard to achieve beauty. It reminds of Janet Fitch's WHITE OLEANDER, only this is a cleaner work. Thank you for letting us glimpse the everyday lovelies of life.' Author John Cutter.

From the Author

One of my favorite reader responses to This is All He Asks Of You, -from author John Bauer:
'I'm shocked that this was a debut novel, so meticulous was the story telling. Though I am hardened and old, the carefully crafted tale pulled me along from one scene to the next. Every pre-teen should read this novel, and pick it up again when he or she is at mid-life--before the crisis. Don't wait until near one's end to read the magic in Luna's narrative. Strongly recommended for all ages.'

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08841KS25
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Roundfire Books (May 29, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 29, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 510 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 152 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 110 ratings

About the author

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Anne Egseth

Anne Egseth

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Anne Egseth studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and has spent her life teaching drama, and devising plays in the UK and her native Norway. Anne now teaches somatic development in San Francisco and Washington DC. She lives by the ocean with her husband and daughter in San Diego, California. This Is All He Asks of You is Anne's debut novel.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
110 global ratings
heartfelt, stays with you
5 Stars
heartfelt, stays with you
Anne Egseth has beautifully captured the importance and necessity of connection (to oneself, to others, and to the world around us) in this heartfelt story. Her gift of bringing a felt sense of our humanness into words that are accessible shines through this story. This story offers us another perspective and intimate experience to life and stays with you long after the last page. I loved this book so much I bought 15 copies to give out to all my friends!
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Top reviews from the United States

Joan Webb
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2020
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Luna, the teller of the tale, is a wise and perceptive girl whose body is so alive with feelings and beeps. I found myself living within her and outside of her throughout the narrative. So many rich feelings enticingly described.

I loved closing the book at the end to look again at the cover and to see for the first time the long flock of waterfowl strung across the sky and the many flotillas of ducks and geese floating as black dots on the sea. I could feel Luna standing there taking in the scene with the sounds of the ocean, birds, and wind and the salty cool smells.

The story kept me reading. Luna is a sensitive and wise witness of her world.
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AM
4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely epistolary novel
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2020
Two things drew me to this book. I love epistolary novels and child narrators always affect me with their combination of innocence and wisdom, but what sealed the deal, and made me request an advanced copy of this book was the mention in the brief description of “human connection”. That’s what so much of life is about all of the time, but it feels especially important during this time when it’s difficult to be with family and friends. We visit in driveways and open spaces sitting apart with our masks on or touch the screen wishing we could hug. Virtual hugs and air kisses don’t seem enough, but they offer us a bit of the normal. I may be digressing, but it was hard not to think about this while reading.

Twelve year old Luna’s letters written to the father she never knows, beautifully and painfully express that need for connecting with each other. I’m not sure this one will be for everyone. It’s sometimes hard to believe that these profound thoughts are those of a twelve year old girl, but at the same time, there is something so genuine and innocent here . She’s lonely and afraid , grieving, needing someone to connect with. Her only friend was back in Norway until she meets her next door neighbor, Garrick, a Vietnam vet, who walks and walks around his backyard. The gift of friendship that he and Luna share when she is in Washington, DC and then continuing when she returns to Norway where she was born was touching and brought some light to this otherwise sad story. The beautiful gift that Garrick gives to Luna in the end brought tears, but they were good ones.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Roundfire Books through NetGalley.
2 people found this helpful
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Juan B
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, captivating story!
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2020
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I thoroughly enjoyed Anne Egseth’s novel ‘This is All He Asks of You’ and finished it in one day. I couldn’t put the book down until I knew what happened to the main character, Luna. The story is beautiful, original, and left an impression on me long after reading it. Luna’s voice is strong and we learn quickly how her special gift guides her actions, gives her strength, and allows her to really see others. Through Luna’s unsent letters to her father, her worries about her ill mother, and her strong and unexpected connection to her neighbor, I found myself smiling, hopeful, tearful and increasingly attached to Luna with every turn of the page.

I strongly recommend this book!
2 people found this helpful
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E. Oakes
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Read
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
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This is a great first novel by a very thoughtful, observant writer. The main character speaks from a rather unusual voice, one that is straightforward and honest. The clarity of the story is disarming. The young protagonist must deal with some of life's most difficult issues, but emerges stronger, wiser, and more resilient. This book also discusses the loss of a parent in a sensitive and intuitive way, which I found moving and true.
An excellent, deceptively powerful tale.
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E. Oakes
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Read
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
This is a great first novel by a very thoughtful, observant writer. The main character speaks from a rather unusual voice, one that is straightforward and honest. The clarity of the story is disarming. The young protagonist must deal with some of life's most difficult issues, but emerges stronger, wiser, and more resilient. This book also discusses the loss of a parent in a sensitive and intuitive way, which I found moving and true.
An excellent, deceptively powerful tale.
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One person found this helpful
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MJB
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2020
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It has been nearly two months since I finished 'This is All He Asks of You' and Luna’s beautiful presence is still haunting me. I find myself longing to embody her commitment to her inner guidance, even (and especially) when it wasn’t convenient. She encourages me to remember a time when it felt like magic was all around me. To remember that I can feel clarity even if it has been overcrowded by expectation, sadness, necessity, reality, grief…

I think of Luna often. Thank you Anne Egseth for writing her into existence.

Written by Alicia Baskel
2 people found this helpful
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Cortney
4.0 out of 5 stars Passion, love, fear, strength and innocence a must read!
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2020
The description of This is All He Asks of You drew me in and I devoured the book in just two days. Anne Egseth’s debut novel is written through the voice of 12 year old Luna, it is written with passion, love, fear, strength and innocence.

Luna writes letters to her father whom she has never met. Her mother tells her he is a useless artist and a searcher of miracles. Luna has a vivid imagination, she talks about swim-flying In the air to a place where she can merge with her surroundings and where she can head to a place where she can find good feelings. Her mother is constantly telling her she needs to stop dreaming and focus on the real world and that she needs to stop being a “crazymaker”. Garrick an older neighbor, who slowly paces in his yard everyday at the same time, becomes Luna’s savior. I feel like I entered their souls and that I know Luna and Garrick from the inside out.

The second part of the book is narrated by 22 year old Luna. From the time Luna is 12 until she is 22 her soul is lost and her body is frozen. Will she find what she needs to move on with her life and swim-fly again, finding the golden liquid light?

Thank you NetGalley and John Hunt Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you are looking for something different filled with innocence and love you will enjoy this book.
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Simon Rowell
3.0 out of 5 stars A Simple Story Nicely Told
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2020
Anne Egseth is clearly an accomplished writer, and describes her simple tale with tremendous feeling. As the book is mostly a presentation of letters that she wrote to her father, it was sometimes hard to reconcile that a 12 year-old child would be so eloquent in her presentation of her feelings and emotions. They were the words of someone much older. But accepting this oddity, the journey is described exceptionally well, although a little cryptically at times (for example, I was never quite sure what the beckoning sound the child heard in her ears alluded to). Nonetheless, definitely worth a read.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Olena Gladka
5.0 out of 5 stars A reminder of simple truths of life
Reviewed in Canada on September 30, 2020
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For me, Anne Egseth’s novel became one of those I would read over and over. And I read it twice in a row.

It had a positive impact on me. Luna's perception of the world resonates a lot with mine. It has reminded me of my inner child and how it is important to listen to my feelings and be connected. Children are good at being true, being connected with nature, noticing the beauty of the moment, and perceive the world in its as-is beauty. When we grow up we lose those capabilities. This novel is a timely reminder of the simple truths we tend to forget when getting older. 
The written style of the novel is very light. It is easy to follow and to understand the deeper sense in between lines. The style also allowed me to plunge into the scene becoming part of it through Luna's thoughts and reflections.

In Anne Egseth’s novel, I personally found a perfect balance of humor, emotions, and thoughts the reader can experience. This novel is perfect reading for me over a cup of tea or hot chocolate in these gloomy days of the pandemic. At this particular moment, the world becomes enlightened and pure for me.
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Maria
5.0 out of 5 stars This Is All He Asks of You by Anne Egseth
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2021
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I always found Anne Egseth a cherished spirit aspiring and liberating her light in many different and magical ways: theater, drama, dance, meditation, motherhood and now as a writer!
Reading her book ..."This Is All He Asks of You"... I was very touched by the poetry of words and the sensitivity of the child protagonist Luna.
Luna without doubt never lost the connection to her soul, witnessing nature and people in a unifying way in her thoughts and feelings, as expressed : "I swim in the air" and "I swim-fly in it!"
Luna's letters to her absent father mirror a longing in the heart, a communication with the beyond, and her loss but Anne surprised the reader in her last chapter, with threads of connectedness, creating a circle of care and beauty in a collective community.
Eulalia Luz Santos
Spiritual Counsellor and Artist.
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Lanja Fletcher
5.0 out of 5 stars Literary balm for the soul
Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2020
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This beautifully written book introduces us to young Luna, who has lost so much but has not lost her connection with the energy of the world around her. Luna feels, and sees, the energy of human connection, trees and the golden light that fills the world. Her unsent letters to her unknown father are both achingly beautiful and filled with hope.
In the midst of a global pandemic characterized by social distancing and disruption, Anne Egseth has written a love letter to the resilience of the human spirit, the magic of the natural world, and the beauty of connection.
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C A Mathews
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2020
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In 1997 I became captivated by 'Spoonface Steinberg', a dramatic monologue featuring a young autistic girl dying of cancer who believed that God created a world made of 'magic sparks' which He put into people, and when they were happy these sparks would fly between them and be set free. The play resonated so deeply with BBC Radio 4 listeners that it was repeated by public demand the following week! In this book the author, a former actress who has performed in the 'Spoonface' play, skilfully explores and expands the concept of how a person can find light through human connection, by means of the letters of a 12-year-old girl to a father she has never known. Like 'Spoonface', 'This is All He Asks of You' speaks to my soul, leaving me wiser - more enlighted, even - than before.
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Hesbert
5.0 out of 5 stars A book to open your eyes.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2020
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This is a lovely book, clear and visionary. I felt I was looking at the world differently after encountering Luna, the young narrator who is writing to her lost father. Like others with this rare capacity, she is gifted to be able to see with more than her physical eyes, and the reader begins to share this translucent way of seeing. I was soon drawn into the story, with its amusing incidents and poignancy, and enjoyed it right to the end.
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