The Murder of Halland
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Denmark’s foremost literary author turns crime fiction on its head.
Bess and Halland live in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else. When Halland is found murdered in the main square the police encounter only riddles. For Bess bereavement marks the start of a journey that leads her to a reassessment of first friends, then family.
If you like crime you won’t be disappointed. The book has all the right ingredients. A murder, a gun, an inspector, suspense. But the story strays far beyond the whodunit norm. In beautifully stark language Pia Juul manages to chart the phases of bereavement.
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Martin
Aitken
Martin Aitken’s translations of Scandinavian literature are numerous. His work has appeared on the shortlists of the DUBLIN Literary Award (2017) and the US Book Awards (2018), as well as the 2021 International Booker Prize. For his translation of Hanne Ørstavik’s Love he received the 2019 PEN America Translation Prize.
Martin Aitken’s translations of Scandinavian literature are numerous. His work has appeared on the shortlists of the DUBLIN Literary Award (2017) and the US Book Awards (2018), as well as the 2021 International Booker Prize. For his translation of Hanne Ørstavik’s Love he received the 2019 PEN America Translation Prize.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
In her novel Pia Juul uses the form of the traditional crime fiction to show that analysis and intellectual investigation don’t reveal the real mystery and complexity of human life and existence.