A good medicine when life is going a bit awry is to delve into books about people who are in a more hopeless situation than yourself. Kathinka Steenstrup’s debut “Hjerteråte” is such a novel. Meet Lydia: divorced criminologist in her forties, who for unknown reasons has settled in the middle of the nuclear family idyll in Ullevål garden town. Son Nebbe lives mostly with his father, who for his part thinks Lydia is hopeless and irresponsible. She forgets gym clothes, taekwondo finishes, packed lunches, and when she first remembers her swimwear, she stuffs it into a Kiwi bag. She lives like a bachelor: plate tower on the kitchen counter, Fjordland dinners for one – you get the idea. Lydia does not miss cohabitation with proper Thomas: Drawn towards the inept But she misses something. One that makes her feel alive. It has to be Tinder. She is automatically drawn to “unsuitable” men on the dating app, those who end up at the bottom of the pile. Take him she calls Rakkestad, a reckless alcoholic gamer who likes to take a quick one behind the rubbish bin on his way to visit Lydia’s grandmother. The guy is most reminiscent of a horny, carefree teenager, which becomes even more noticeable when Lydia leaves money (!) for the subway and lunch before she goes to work. He farts under the covers. Red flag! I write in the margin. But Lydia is tenacious. Why doesn’t she run? Hopeless first dates That’s the dream, then. Steenstrup writes convincingly about single life in the swipe era: the trembling expectation that one of these matches might actually turn out to be something. Disappointment as “a hard, cold lump in the heart” when things don’t work out. Here is he who asks zero questions, he who brags about his equipment, he who can’t get it up, he who scares her, and he who asks her to pay 70 percent of the petrol on a road trip to Denmark: “then you can just look away from washer fluid and tolls.” By the way, he stings when it gets uncomfortable. “I felt like a scrap with square pickles, dull and without elegance,” Lydia thinks after another unsuccessful first date. It is full of such sly comparisons and recognizable dating moments. Like when she panic-prepares for a date at home with a guy who looks like a gangster/model: Yep, that’s how it is. Hurt Like his protagonist, author Steenstrup works as an anger management therapist. She is also the older sister of “Pørni” creator Henriette, and was a script consultant for this year’s season of the TV series about the self-sacrificing single mother and child welfare educator. PØRNI WRINKLES THE FOREHEAD: Henriette Steenstrup brought in her therapist-writer-sister to work on the TV success “Pørni”. Photo: Marius Bjellebø / Viaplay And there is something slightly childish about the novel, both in form and content. In short, episodic chapters, at work and at home, we meet those closest to Lydia. A resourceful little sister who constantly offers comfort and baking: “It was as if she always carried around something that helped.” A father who still speaks in “we” form, even though it’s been over thirty years since their mother passed through the ice. He stands up for “Trygge Tjern”, but refuses to talk about the great darkness behind the death. These meetings are the finest and most painful parts of the novel. Hysterical But the fast tone is also experienced as a bit hysterical. It moves forward at a furious pace, without me really getting under Lydia’s skin, most of it kind of bounces off. How is she really doing in her life? Even when it gets dramatic, bloody, she rushes on. The novel would have benefited from including some breathing breaks along the way, because Lydia is a fascinating character that I would have liked to have gotten to know even better. So: For the next book, I want more rot. news reviews Photo: Kagge Forlag Title: “Heart rot” Author: Kathinka Steenstrup Genre: Novel Date: 19 September 2024 Pages: 336 Publisher: Kagge Hello, book lovers! I am a freelance writer and review books for news. I love everything from dizzying page-turners to short short stories and narrative non-fiction. The last book I read in shreds was “Jävla menn” by Andrev Walden, and my heart beats extra hard for Lorrie Moore and Geoff Dyer. Please contact me if you have input for the review or tips on books I should read! Published 18.09.2024, at 06.00
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“Heart rot” by Kathinka Steenstrup – Reviews and recommendations
