Example of Life

Example of Life

Helle Helle

Original title: Eksempel på liv
Publisher: Samleren, Denmark, 1993
Genre: Short stories

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Helle Helle’s first publication is a collection of short texts featuring a recurring character, Marianne:
– When Marianne was less than ten years old she often imagined that someone would place a camera on a crane and make it follow her, camera rolling when she went to school. The Day of Marianne was the film’s title and she would do the voiceover herself; telling stories about what she got up to, her pencil case and unreality of language while the camera would pan across her and the 27 other students in her class. Marianne strolled down the sidewalk her satchel at a sharp right angle from her body, crane in tow. One morning her friend left the unremarkable house on the road and initiated a discussion about the significance of appearance in relation to the opposite gender. – We are both fairly ordinary, her girlfriend said. – But we’re pretty smart. In the evening standing in front of the mirror she tried to spot the intelligence behind her eyes. The following day she turned 10. (from the text)

A masterpiece full of small, bright eyed and absurd stories about he world and everyday life.

Weekendavisen, Denmark

Helle Helle

Photo by Mikkel Carl

Helle Helle (b. 1965) is a graduate of the Danish Academy of Creative Writing and the author of a number of novels as well as two collections of short fiction. She is one of Scandinavia’s most original writers, with a career spanning three decades, from her debut Example of Life (1993) to her most recent novel, Hafni Says, published to rave reviews in 2023. Her books have been translated into 22 languages.

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