Mirror Shoulder Signal

Author(s): Dorthe Nors

MBIP 2017

'Dorthe Nors is fantastic!' Junot Diaz 'Nors' writing is by turns witty, gut wrenching, stark and lyrical.' Los Angeles Times Sonja's over forty, and she's trying to move in the right direction. She's learning to drive. She's joined a meditation group. And she's attempting to reconnect with her sister. But Sonja would rather eat cake than meditate. Her driving instructor won't let her change gear. And her sister won't return her calls. Sonja's mind keeps wandering back to the dramatic landscapes of her childhood - the singing whooper swans, the endless sky, and getting lost barefoot in the rye fields - but how can she return to a place that she no longer recognises? And how can she escape the alienating streets of Copenhagen? Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a poignant, sharp-witted tale of one woman's journey in search of herself when there's no one to ask for directions.

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Dorthe Nors is fantastic -- Junot Diaz Gripping... how often can we honestly say that a book is unlike anything else? Yet here it is, unique in form and effect... Nors has found a novel way of getting into the human heart... even the author blurb is exciting: it tells us that as well as this novella and collection of stories, Nors has written four novels not yet translated into English. Oh! Don't make us wait -- John Self Guardian Unsettling and poetic... Some pieces, like one about a four-pound tomato, are oddly beautiful; others are brilliantly disturbing New York Times Book Review Dorthe Nors is a writer of moments-quiet, raw portraits of existential meditation, at times dyspeptic, but never unsympathetic Paris Review 'What We're Loving' The short-short stories in Danish sensation Nors's slim, potent collection, Karate Chop ... Evoke the weirdness and wonder of relating in the digital age Vogue In this collection of stories, Danish fiction comes off a little like Danish furniture, spare and sublime. Author Dorthe Nors knows how to capture the smallest moments and sculpt them into the unforgettable Oprah Magazine Nors illuminates an ominous world of disconnected people trying to make sense of their dislocation...Nors' affectless, matter-of-fact storytelling...is the perfect complement to the low-wattage desperation and inertia her characters feel...Karate Chop is just like that: It loves you and wants to teach you, but it also wants to harm you Los Angeles Times In the span of two pages, she is able to both build and unmake a character, achieving the same complexity that other writers require entire novels to establish. (...) Karate Chop is the first of Nors' books to be translated to English but certainly won't be the last. Lovers of the art of literary fiction, students of psychology, and everyone looking for a quick, thought- provoking read should all indulge themselves in the subversive delight of this short story collection Booklist The intricately crafted stories in Karate Chop, from popular Danish writer Dorthe Nors, focus on ordinary occurrences ... and then twist them into brilliantly slanted cautionary tales about desire, romance, deception, and dread Elle Nors has found her own space away from Copenhagen's literati... Her words whip along, each idea cascading into the next: it's like having a window into someone's thoughts and makes for a stimulating... read Independent Unpredictable, poetic and powerful, with comedy, hope and surrealism alongside mental illness, violence and tragedy Curious Animal Magazine (On Karate Chop:) 'Spare, poetic, ominously disturbing' (On Minna Needs Rehearsal Space:) 'A playful experiment in finding mood and meaning in the staccato prose of the newspaper headline or social media status update' Bookanista One of Denmark's most inventive and acclaimed contemporary writer Bookanista An attractive format... shows us more than one side to Nors's work. Short, sharp stories... oblique and precise... Very striking David Hebblethwaite's Blog In this beautifully packaged back-to-back collection, Pushkin Press presents a stunningly original new voice from Denmark... Dorthe Nors has the fabulous talent (...) of restraint... The stories (...) will stay with readers far beyond the page... A major new voice in European literature Booktrust [A] unique book... a fresh, brave voice... Nors creates an incredibly direct and forceful short story. Stick with her, it's worth it We Love This Book Darkly funny and incisive... In these literary body-blows, Nors takes merciless aim at families, relationships and egos FT Nors is the Danish doyenne of the genre... [She] presents a hauntingly familiar world, which presents unpredicted turns that are at once astoundingly disturbing and curiously beautiful The Lady Dorthe Nors's story collection, Karate Chop, also blew me away. Published by Pushkin Press in an attractive back-to-back edition (the innovative novella Minna Needs Rehearsal Space is on the flipside) these are some of the best five-page stories I've ever read. -- Thomas Morris Irish Times Nors has a great knack... for portraying the voids and fault lines in an unbalanced mind... crisp, quirky, jarringly funny TLS My favorite discovery was Minna Needs Rehearsal Space by the ferociously-talented Danish writer Dorthe Nors ... a beautiful, moving, totally compelling account of one woman's yearning. I simply can't wait for Nors's next English translation. -- Nick Barley, director Edinburgh International Book Festival The Herald Very appealing A Life in Books (blog)

Dorthe Nors was born in 1970 and studied literature at the University of Aarhus. She is one of the most original voices in contemporary Danish literature. Her short stories have appeared in numerous international periodicals including including The Boston Review and Harpers, and she is the first Danish writer ever to have a story published in the New Yorker. Nors has published four novels so far, in addition to a collection of stories Karate Chop, and a novella Minna needs rehearsal space, also published by Pushkin Press. Karate Chop won the prestigious P. O. Enquist Literary Prize in 2014. She lives in rural Jutland, Denmark.

General Fields

  • : 9781782273127
  • : Pushkin Press
  • : Pushkin Press
  • : 0.5
  • : December 0000
  • : 21.00 cmmm X 15.00 cmmm X 2.20 cmmm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : March 2017
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Dorthe Nors
  • : 192
  • : Scholarly/Undergraduate
  • : 839.8138
  • : en
  • : Paperback