Literature and Fiction · Hardback

The Unworthy

Norwegian title: De uverdige

Roy Jacobsen

In Roy Jacobsen’s latest novel, The Unworthy, we follow a gang of boys and girls from an apartment building on the east side of Oslo during the WWII German occupation. They live in poverty, but they manage by creatively swindling, stealing like magpies, falsifying documents and committing extensive burglaries. They don’t shy away from exploiting the Enemy, either. With this pack of children, a lauded writer has rendered a brutally frank and warm portrait of a time, a place and an everyday life that thus far has been absent from the stories told of WWII. This is a Roy Jacobsen novel of best mark.

The Unworthy is wise, brutal and entertaining. A gem of a story, written by an author in his right element.

ReviewsA worthy and powerful reading experienceDramatic, interesting and exciting ... a fantastic picture of an environment and a time that not everyone knows today.Nettavisen, six/six starsNew first-rate novel by Jacobsen… once more Jacobsen wields the language in a nuanced, confident manner.Stavanger Aftenblad, six/six stars

About ignoranceThe Unworthy has to be one of Roy Jacobsen's best novels.Klassekampen

Brutal war novel from Roy JacobsenRoy Jacobsen is, as always, a master of details, environment and working methods.VG, five/six stars

Good news from the Eastern front... the narrative offers surprising, humerous and cheeky touches that show Roy Jacobsen at his best.Dagsavisen

Exciting like a thrillerThe characters are credibly drawn, the milieu renderings almost filmatic.Dagbladet, five/six stars

The indifferent[Roy Jacobsen] has done it again. Created an environment and characters that will be remembered.Bok365, five/six starsIn full vigour Roy Jacobsen impresses again, both as astoryteller and a portrayer of people … an organic and unpredictable literary universe, as asymmetric and restless as life itself.DN

The novel is incredibly well written and composed.Jyllands-Posten, Denmark

Powerful historic realism.Weekendavisen, Denmark