Variations

All the characters in Terje Holtet Larsen’s short stories find themselves either physically, mentally or emotionally in a process of distintegration. The distance between people has become insurmountable, and the title Variations covers both the varying stages in this process as well as the varying approaches employed to illuminate the complex problems.

In addition to this thematic compilation of short stories, Holtet Larsen also links the narratives by having people, relationships and predicaments recur, and in this way the collection gains an added dimension in which the content and theme both become clearer and at the same time more complex.

Praise for Variations:

“With Variations, Terje Holtet Larsen distinguishes himself as absolutely one of the most interesting voices currently in the Norwegian literary landscape.”
(Aftenposten) 

“Six taut, concentrated short stories with unpredictable openings, written with a sure touch. Terje Holtet Larsen portrays people condemned to live within their own conflicts.”
(Dagbladet) 

“All writing is difficult, all literary genres are difficult. This is not even more difficult. However, some write better short stories than others, and Terje Holtet Larsen is one of those writers who will soon have earned the right to sit at the same table as Kjell Askildsen and Øystein Lønn.”
(Morgenbladet) 

“They drag you almost mercilessly into universal human problems, and it is not at all certain that you will emerge unscathed.”
(Arbeiderbladet) 

“And all these short stories are good stories. The kind where the reader turns the pages to find out how it ends. And within the fiction, stories are related, in accordance with the Chinese-box principle, in order to arrive at the core. These are clever stories, powerfully insistent.”
(Klassekampen) 

“Flawless short stories.”
(Adresseavisen) 

“Variations is Terje Holtet Larsen’s fourth book, and it confirms his place as one of the most exciting young writers we possess.”
(Kvinner og klær) 

“Variations is a taut, condensed and assured book about people and their conflicts, confirming the author has that little extra something to make him really top notch.”
(Avisa Trondheim)

First published: 1995, Kolon forlag
Terje Holtet Larsen: Biography and bibliography