lucca_grondahl
2004 Longlist

Lucca

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

Lucca Montale, a 32-year-old Danish actress, is involved in a terrible motor accident. She has been severely injured and Robert, the doctor responsible for treating her, has to break the news that she may never see again.
Robert and Lucca are both suffering the after-effects of love. He has sought refuge in controlled resignation since his divorce whereas she has rushed into increasingly dramatic, desperate acts. Grøndahl masterfully deploys a dual narrative, switching with astounding insight between the stories that the two protagonists relate to each other. The result is a love story of immense emotional and philosophical reach that will enhance Grøndahl’s reputation as one of the most readable and profound novelists writing today.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Jens
Christian Grøndahl

Jens Christian Grøndahl was born in 1959 in Copenhagen. After studying philosophy, he was trained as a film director at The National Danish Film School. His first novel was published in 1985. He is the author of nineteen novels, seven volumes of essays and three children’s books. Several novels of his have been shortlisted for the IMPAC Prize, the Prix Médici Étranger and the Prix Fémina Étranger. His novels in English translation include Silence in OctoberLuccaVirginia and An Altered Light. He lives in Copenhagen with his wife and two daughters. (Bio courtesy of Pan Macmillan).

Jens Christian Grøndahl was born in 1959 in Copenhagen. After studying philosophy, he was trained as a film director at The National Danish Film School. His first novel was published in 1985. He is the author of nineteen novels, seven volumes of essays and three children’s books. Several novels of his have been shortlisted for the IMPAC Prize, the Prix Médici Étranger and the Prix Fémina Étranger. His novels in English translation include Silence in OctoberLuccaVirginia and An Altered Light. He lives in Copenhagen with his wife and two daughters. (Bio courtesy of Pan Macmillan).

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Anne
Born

Anne Rosemary Cookes was born in south London on 9 July 1924. She joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry during the Second World War, and taught Morse code at the SOE at Grendon Underwood, Bucks, where she met Povl Born, a Danish air force pilot. In 1946 they married and moved to Copenhagen, where she studied English literature at the university. She became fluent in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

She began writing poetry and, at the same time, began translating Scandinavian writers into English, such as Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen, Jens Christian Grøndahl, Per Petterson, Michael Larsen, Janne Teller, Stig Holmas, Carsten Jensen, Sissel Lie, Henrik Stangerup, and Knud Hjortø.

In the 1980s, she moved to Salcombe, Devon, where she wrote books on local history. She founded the poetry publisher Overstep Books in 1992, and ran it until 2008.

Anne Rosemary Cookes was born in south London on 9 July 1924. She joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry during the Second World War, and taught Morse code at the SOE at Grendon Underwood, Bucks, where she met Povl Born, a Danish air force pilot. In 1946 they married and moved to Copenhagen, where she studied English literature at the university. She became fluent in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

She began writing poetry and, at the same time, began translating Scandinavian writers into English, such as Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen, Jens Christian Grøndahl, Per Petterson, Michael Larsen, Janne Teller, Stig Holmas, Carsten Jensen, Sissel Lie, Henrik Stangerup, and Knud Hjortø.

In the 1980s, she moved to Salcombe, Devon, where she wrote books on local history. She founded the poetry publisher Overstep Books in 1992, and ran it until 2008.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
Denmark
Original Language
Danish
Publisher
Canongate, Text Publishing Company
Translator
Anne Born

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