The Land of Short Sentences

Title: The Land of Short Sentence (original title:Meter i Sekundet) Writer: Stine Pilgaard (translated by Hunter Simpson) Publishing House: World Editions Date of Publication: March 1st 2022  (first published May 15th 2020) Rating: 5 stars ‘’We are still new to this field, and we walk through them with our baby carriage in a state of…

A Postcard for Annie

Title: A Postcard for Annie (original title: Postcort til Annie) Writer: Ida Jessen (translated by Martin Aitken) Publishing House: Archipelago Books Date of Publication: May 10th 2022 (first published January 1st 2013) Rating: 5 stars ‘’In her coat, standing at the counter, Tove wrote: ‘’I’ve gone out.’’ She then crumpled the note in her hand…

The Trouble With Happiness

Title: The Trouble With Happiness and Other Stories Writer: Tove Ditlevsen (translated by Michael Favala Goldman) Publishing House: Penguin Classics Date of Publication: March 3rd 2022 Rating: 5 stars “There is nothing so merciful as love.” The Umbrella: An umbrella becomes the metaphor for a young woman’s unsatisfactory life in the hands of a cruel,…

Nordic Tales: Folktales from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark

Title: Nordic Tales: Folktales From Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark Writer: Various, illustrated by Ulla Thynell Publishing House: Chrinicle Books Date of Publication: August 13th 2019  Rating: 5 stars ‘’In the days of our forefathers, when there was nothing but wretched boats up in Nordland, and folks must needs buy fair winds by the…

Winter’s Tales

Title: Winter’s Tales (original title: Vinter- Eventyr) Writer: Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) Publishing House: Penguin Modern Classics Date of Publication: September 27th 2001 (first published 1942) Rating: 5 stars ‘’You have drunk with Sunniva now,’’ she said. ‘’You have drunk down a little wisdom, so that in the future all your thoughts shall not fall…

Α Very Scandinavian Christmas

Title: A Very Scandinavian Christmas Writer: Various Publishing House: New Vessel Press Date of Publication: September 17th 2019 Rating: 5 stars ‘’He saw a lowly stable behind a steep rock wall, and in the open doorway a few shepherds kneeling. Within the stable, he saw a young mother on her knees before a little child,…

So Much For That Winter

Title: So Much For That Winter (original title: Det var så den vinter) Writer: Dorthe Nors, translated by Misha Hoekstra Publishing House: Graywolf Press Date of Publication:  June 15th 2016  Rating: 5 stars ‘’Night has descended on Amager. Denmark is laid in darkness. The Sound flows softly. The planes take off and land. Minna awakens….

Hans Christian Andersen (Little People, Big Dreams)

Title: Hans Christian Andersen (Little People, Big Dreams) Writer: Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Maxine Lee-Mackie Publishing House: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books Date of Publication: April 20th 2021 Rating: 5 stars ‘’The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.     Hans Christian Andersen A…

Κarate Chop

Title: Karate Chop (original title: Kantslag) Writer: Dorthe Nors (translated by Martin Aitken) Publishing House: Graywolf Press Date of Publication: February 4th 2014 (first published September 25th 2008) Rating: 5 stars ‘’Once in a while everyone wishes someone dead, though no one should ever kill.’’ Do You Know Jussi? : A girl on the brink…

Island

Title: Island (original title: Ø) Writer: Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen (translated by Caroline Waight) Publishing House: Pushkin Press Date of Publication: June 24th 2021 (first published August 2016) Rating: 5 stars ‘’She stands with her back to the low copse of planted trees, looking down the mountain to the village, blue in the August night,…

Wild Swims

Title: Wild Swims (original title: Kort Over Canada) Writer: Dorthe Nors (translated by Misha Hoekstra) Publishing House: Graywolf Press Date of Publication:  February 2nd 2021 (first published April 23rd 2018) Rating: 5 stars ‘’Both fairground and field have been baking all day in the late-summer sun. It’s September now, and when she walks around the…

The Faces

Title: The Faces (original title: Ansigterne Writer: Tove Ditlevsen (translated by Tiina Nunnally) Publishing House: Penguin Classics Date of Publication: January 26th 2021 (first published 1968) Rating: 5 stars ‘’She could think about the words in peace, without fearing that new ones would appear before the night was over. During this time the night held…

Hans Christian Andersen: The Journey of His Life

Title: Hans Christian Andersen: The Journey of His Life Writer: Heinz Janisch, illustrated by Maja Kastelic Publishing House: NorthSouth Books Date of Publication: September 1st 2020 Rating: 5 stars “The most wonderful fairytale is life itself. “ Hans Christian Andersen  A little girl travels with her lither to Copenhagen. It is going to be a…

The Little Mermaid

Title: The Little Mermaid Writer: Hans Christian Andersen (translated by Misha Hoekstra Publishing House: Pushkin Children’s Books Date of Publication:March 10th 2020 Rating:5 stars ‘’You’ll keep your swaying way of moving, and no dancer will be able to glide like you- but with every step you take, it’ll feel like you’re stepping on a sharp knife that’ll make…

The Invention of Ana

Title: The Invention of Ana Writer: Mikkel Rosengaard (translated by  Caroline Waight) Publishing House: Custom House Date of Publication: February 13th 2018 Rating: 5 stars ‘’They never went hungry, but there was no electricity, and she remembered the long, dark evenings in the apartment, the afternoons when there was so little to do that she was reduced to padding at…

When All the Days Have Gone

Title: When all the days have gone Writer: Lars Boye Jerlach Publishing House: Angry Owl Publishing Date of Publication: November 1st 2017 Rating: 5 stars ‘’Where are you heading when nothing is moving and time is still?’’ Ambrosius Moerk’s profession has everything to do with time. And nothing. He is a grave-digger, responsible for the most permanent place of residence-…