'They go for a walk by the playing fields, the anemones are out.'

In the small Danish town of Rødby, a mother and her sixteen-year-old daughter live uneventfully, each day marked by routine and a quiet intimacy. Together, they are a family; complete, content – and fragile.

When the mother begins to feel unwell, everything and nothing changes. They go about their lives, talk about anything but the diagnosis. The daughter takes tentative steps into adulthood. Still, illness – and the possibility of loss – cast an expansive shadow over the rituals of daily life.

they is a tender and piercing exploration of a mother–daughter relationship, brought into startling focus by Helle Helle’s distinctive, immediate prose.

‘One of Scandinavia’s finest authors.’ Dagbladet

‘Without redundant words or extensive expeditions, but absolutely not without humour, she conveys the daily life and existential emptiness in the outskirts of Denmark.’ Adresseavisen

‘Helle Helle’s new novel shines with linguistic precision and elegance.’ Litteratursiden

“Every sentence is significant, and you have to take time to imbibe the moods and read the details and their indirect characteristics, what they reveal about the characters and their thoughts.” Nordjyske Stiftstidende

“You laugh and laugh, cry and cry. Not bawling or sobbing, but quiet and intense. That’s what it’s like reading Helle Helle.” Politiken, 6/6 stars

“Helle’s prose, translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken, is at once frank in its directness and elusive in its selective ­economy.” The New York Times (about This Should be Written in the Present Tense)

“Helle has enchanting gifts as a storyteller.” New York Times Book Review (about This Should be Written in the Present Tense)

ISBN-13: 9781836750031

Width/Height: 129 x 198mm

Format: Paperback

Country of Origin (language): Denmark

Language: Danish tr. English

Pub Date: 05/02/2026

Page Extent: 226 Pages

Price: 12.99 GBP