Way Through the Woods

Long Litt Woon (born 1958 in Malaysia) is an anthropologist and Norwegian Mycological Association–certified mushroom professional. She first visited Norway as a young exchange student. There she met and married Norwegian Eiolf Olsen. She currently lives in Oslo, Norway. According to Chinese naming tradition, ‘Long’ is her surname and ‘Litt Woon’ her first name.Barbara J. Haveland (born 1951) is a Scots-born literary translator resident in Copenhagen. She translates fiction, poetry, and drama from Norwegian and Danish to English, and has translated works by many leading Danish and Norwegian writers. Her most recent published works include new translations of The Master Builder and Little Eyolf by Henrik Ibsen and the first two volumes of Carl Frode Tiller’s Encircling trilogy.

‘Long’s book, in which she recounts how mycology helped her to recover from the death of her husband, could hardly be better timed ... People talk, in these fractious times, about mindfulness. They wonder how to shut out the din, and get back to the important, elemental things in life. Mushrooms, here only fleetingly and easily damaged, do this effortlessly.’