Happy New Year
FarLit kicks off this new year with a big Congratulations to Faroese author Rakel Helmsdal whose book “Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum” is the Faroese nomination for The Children and Youth Literature Prize of the West Nordic Council. The book is about the girl Argantael who lives in the town Port Janua, an invented town resembling towns in the Faroe Islands and other Nordic countries. Argantael looks like the perfect teenage girl; clever, beautiful, trendy and popular amongst her peer but she does not have what she craves the most; parents who care about her. Argantael lives with a father who is an emotionally detached workaholic and a mother who is mentally ill – two adults incapable of accommodating Argantael’s needs and emotions. Falling in love, deceit and friendship are some of the main themes dealt with in the book with inspiration from Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. “Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum” is one of three books nominated for this year’s West Nordic Literature Prize and the two other nominees are “Mamma Klikk” by Icelandic author Gunnar Helgason and “AVUU” by Greenlandic author Frederik “Kunngi” Kristensen.
