UpLit / Literature and Fiction2025 · 432 pp
Pretty Normal
Cathrine Hellesøy Harrisson
What’s the absolute worst thing you can imagine? I’m the one who constantly makes things up, creates the world anew, creates the day, creates the dream, creates what allows everything to be split apart and crushed. No imagined scene is safe or strong enough. Not even now, when things were so good between us. You could have saved me, from all this chaos, I'm sure.Instead, you have disappeared. For real, this time.Why?Where are you?Can you at least call me?"Hush," said DadDon't make it a big thing. What is infatuation? Is it a neurosis? A compulsion? And what about love— is it something else? Pretty Normal moves between the innocent, the beautiful, and the naive, and the skewed, the violent, and the slightly perverse. The author describes obsession, and especially sexuality, in a direct and vivid way, from the innocent awakening to a more adult and at times destructive exploration. The story contains many layers, understated humour, and a main character who, despite her violent thoughts, fights fiercely for meaning and love.
