CHILDHOOD, YOUTH, DEPENDENCY

Utterly agonisingly compulsive a masterpiece Liz Jensen Guardian Following one woman s journey from a troubled girlhood in working class Copenhagen through her struggle to live on her own terms The Copenhagen Trilogy is a searingly honest utterly immersive portrayal of love friendship art ambition and the terrible lure of addiction from one of Denmark s most celebrated twentieth century writers Sharp tough and tender wrenching sadness and pitch black comedy Ditlevsen can pivot from hilarity to heartbreak in a trice Boyd Tonkin Spectator Astonishing honest entirely revealing and in the end devastating Ditlevsen s trilogy is remarkable not only for its honesty and lyricism these are books that journey deep into the darkest reaches of human experience and return fatally wounded but still eloquent Observer The best books I have read this year These volumes slip in like a stiletto and do their work once inside Thrilling New Statesman