Karate Chop

Beautiful, emotionally resonant and achingly contemporary stories from the Man Booker International Prize Shortlisted author

In these glittering tales, Dorthe Nors sketches ordinary lives taking unexpected turns: a walk amongst the herons in Copenhagen inspires depraved thoughts; a woman in an abusive relationship searches for explanations; a man Googles female serial killers while his girlfriend sleeps; a daughter watches silently as her mother succumbs to madness.

Blending compassion with dark delight, Nors conjures up fresh moments of isolation and frail beauty with each cautionary glance.

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 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, including Mirror, Shoulder, Signal - shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize - 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.