‘So clear is Ditlevsen’s eye that it is impossible to tear yourself away’ John Self, Guardian

An unforgettable collection of short stories by the author of The Copenhagen Trilogy. ‘The most important thing is probably always exactly the thing you can't have. That's where all the happiness lies.’

In these short, sharp stories of love, marriage, and family from one of Denmark's most recognizable authors, the ordinary events of everyday life - a wife worried about not waking her husband, a young boy losing his father's favorite knife, a woman obsessively longing for a yellow silk umbrella - become dark and unsettling. Here, Tove Ditlevsen explores desire, fear, and the elusive nature of that strange thing called happiness.

‘The purity and dazzling insight of Ditlevsen's writing speaks for itself’ Daily Telegraph

‘Authentic, unadulterated, and perfectly straightforward’ Sunday Times

‘Ditlevsen's beautiful and overwhelmingly pessimistic stories simmer with melancholy and despair’ Daily Mail

Translation: Michael Favala Goldman

Pages: 192, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm