Follows a century in the port town of Marstal on an island off the coast of Denmark, whose citizens' lives are indelibly shaped by forces ranging from wars and shipwrecks to taboo survival practices and forbidden passions.
“An incredibly moving and gripping novel . . . so sure-footed, clear, vibrating, like chiffon or a cigarette.” — Olga Ravn An incandescent debut about young adults learning how to care for themselves — from within the limits of the psychiatric system Perfect for fans of Tove Ditlevsen and devotees of Sylvia Plath In honest, crackling investigations of the psychiatric system and the young people trying to find their way, Gråbøl’s soaring debut offers a critique of institutionalization and an urgent recalibrating of the language and conceptions of care. “I’m not inarticulate, but I leave languag... continue
In March 2015, Naja Marie Aidt's son Carl died at twenty-five years old in a tragic accident.When Death Takes Something from You, Give It Back describes the first year after that devastating phone call. It is at once a sober account of life after losing a child--showing how grief transforms one's relationship to reality, loved ones, and time--and an exploration of the language of poetry, loss, and love. Faced with the sudden emptiness of language, Aidt finds solace in the anguish of Joan Didion, Nick Cave, C.S. Lewis, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and other writers who have suffered the deade... continue
A remarkable woman challenges the idea that Islam should be defined by masculinity and conservatism. Named one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2016, and the subject of a Guardian interview, Sherin Khankan is one of the very few female imams in the Western World. In addition she has founded the first mosque for women in Europe. In her revelatory book, she addresses such issues as the place for modern women in Islam, fundamentalism, radical Islamic groups, Islamic divorce, Sufism...and she also describes her own personal journey as a female Muslim activist. Women Are The Future of Islam shines a femin... continue
'Utterly, agonisingly compulsive ... a masterpiece' Liz Jensen, Guardian The second volume in The Copenhagen Trilogy, the searing portrait of a woman's journey through love, friendship, ambition and addiction, from one of Denmark's most celebrated twentieth-century writers Forced to leave school early, Tove embarks on a chequered career in a string of low-paid, menial jobs. But she is hungry: for poetry, for love, for real life to begin. As Europe slides into war, she must navigate exploitative bosses, a Nazi landlady and unwelcome sexual encounters on the road to hard-won independence. Yet sh... continue