Literature and Fiction · Hardback

Him, solo

Norwegian title: Han, solo

Robin Van de Walle

«I am rootless, homeless, restless, loveless»

Him, solo starts as a classic breakup-novel. Robin is 26 years old and has been left by the man he thought was the one. The heartbreak leads to a journey of discovery unlike most; a literary exploration of one’s own life and background, and about being a queer foreigner in Norway. The reader is brought to Robin’s childhood and upbringing in Belgium, through his years of studying and relationships in Sweden and Norway, to the present Bergen where lockdown, isolation and pandemic restrictions enhance the emptiness and loneliness following the breakup. First and foremost, Him, solo is about the great loneliness. The loneliness you can feel even when you’re surrounded by others.

A remarkable debut novel which explores highs and lows; you’ve got Star Wars and Titanic, outer space and the seabed, philosophy of language and Grindr-sex.