Literature and Fiction · Hardback

Hell

Norwegian title: Helvete

Erlend Loe

Rakel is newly divorced. Her ex-husband’s new girlfriend has a sparkling laugh and bakes her own crispbread. Rakel has to move from her villa into a smaller townhouse. She has custody of her children every other week.

With plenty of time on her hands, Rachel decides to tackle her small patch of garden with a rusty shovel she finds in an old shed. Just as she starts digging, she uncovers a hatch that happens to lead straight to Hell. At Hell’s front desk, Rakel buys a stamp card, so she can come back. She also buys nuts to feed Satan, who is Hell’s main attraction. (His favourites are macademias.) When Rakel sees Satan for the first time, their eyes lock, and Satan’s gaze doesn’t let go. It’s a devilish gaze.

This journey to the heart of darkness comes with typical Erlend Loe absurdism and lots of dark humor.

Illustrated by Kim Hiorthøy.

Yours truly had the greatest of times with this book! Loe does not make a batter bigger than what he can beat, but what hell of a cake he is baking! The naïve lines in the illustrations by Kim Hiorthøy suits this absurd and delightful novel that also has a very surprising end. ADRESSEAVISEN, 6/6 STARSLoe is witty and satirical. Childish and wise at the same time. He messes around with stereotypes, standardized language and human weaknesses. Hell can be read as an allegory of life and what happens in the tension between the highs and the (cellar) lows. The book touches the modern feeling of vigour and doubt. Even the Devil - who´s sister is God, who has become so hard to handle that she is "the main problem for evil" - trembles and longs. He is "full of longing" and doubting the whole system. Quite human. Maybe that is why it is so easy to like the novels by Loe. They are fun stories about doubt, weak moments, crisis and contra productive life strategies. The are about life, a topic that matters to most of us. DAGBLADET, 5/6 STARS

Charmer in Hell... elegantly illustrated novella about the hustle and bustle of Hell.STAVANGER AFTENBLAD, 5/6 STARS

The book pokes at the modern feeling of life and doubt. Even the devil, whose sister is God and so difficult that she has become «the problem of the evil», falters and yearns. He is «full of longing» and calls «the whole system into question». Quite human. Perhaps that is why it's so easy to like Loe's novels. They are fun stories about doubts, weak moments, crises and counterproductive life strategies. They are about life, which affects most people.DAGBLADET 5/6 STARS