Mirror, Shoulder, Signal

Sonja is a thoroughly modern heroine... nothing at all like Bridget Jones. Comical and clever, with a knife-twist of uneasiness The Times This novel reads like a sort of Danish Woody Allen: existential, domestic, gently humorous Daily Mail Dorthe Nors is fantastic -- Junot Diaz Witty and insightful depth... Nors writes important modern women's fiction... she gives back agency and centrality to older women Financial Times In this short novel Nors manages to condense the essence of life Spectator Benevolent ingenuity of Nors's writing... excellent situational tragicomedy... Nors's reinvention of experimental fiction is marvellous Guardian A magnificent exploration of anxiety... Ms Nors's novel delivers a bracing antidote to the cult of hygge Economist This is a book for anyone, from Stockholm to Shanghai, who finds themselves living in a city, feeling unaccountably anxious, with "restless legs poised for flight" TLS Forty-something Sonja takes control by learning to drive - with hilarious consequences Vogue An unflinching eye makes the new queen of Danish literature stand out... very moving... Nors' watchful eye... the tenderness of her writing Big Issue An insightful and compassionate novel Sunday Herald You sit on the roller coaster and let her drive. You give in to the pure pleasure of reading, the exuberance of the language, the myriads of colourful characters EuroLit Network A quick and offbeat read. It might just remind you of situations you've allowed to control you, and inspire you to find a way out Bookbag The ending... is perfect: hopeful without sentimentality, allowing for love but not equating love with magic. And the love comes from a most unexpected place, one that made me smile with surprised delight Elle Things (blog) Sharp, very funny... deftly combining wit with acute observation A Life in Books (blog) Dorthe Nors' novel is wonderful to read on different levels Miss Mesmerized (blog) 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 ...

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.