A House in Norway

An artist’s liberal self-image is challenged by a rocky relationship with her new tenants in this potent and politically charged novel by international Booker prize and National Book Award listed author of Will and Testament Alma, a divorced artist makes a living from weaving tapestries for trade unions. Having been initially flush with pride to be given a more creative assignment, to design a tapestry for an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage in Norway, she finds her inspiration begin to stutter. Meanwhile, she rents her adjoining property to a Polish family. Their presence becomes a challenge to her unconscious assumptions and the identity as a good feminist and an open-minded liberal that she cherishes. Uncannily relatable and achingly astute, Hjorth dissects Alma's torturous stabs to reconcile the wish to be tolerant and altruistic with a crushing desire for creative solitude and a little peace.