International Authors Book Club

Read an author of your choosing from a predetermined country. February’s nation is Denmark. We will meet each third Thursday of the month to discuss your author, their works, and any themes they explore.

The suggested authors, all native born, represent just a fraction of Denmark’s robust literary tradition.

The bolded titles are available through your Santa Fe Public Library as books or ebooks (Hoopla or Overdrive/Libby).

For disability or translation accommodations, please email library@santafenm.gov or call the Library.

Suggested authors:

Jussi Adler-Olsen, author of The Alphabet House, and the Department Q series

Nordic Noir master Adler-Olsen is renowned for his thrilling Department Q series, which begins with The Keeper of Lost Causes.

The series follows the cold case unit led by the cynical yet brilliant Detective Carl Mørck, alongside his idiosyncratic team. Adler-Olsen excels at crafting intricate, suspense-laden plots that often unearth dark secrets and societal ills.

Naja Marie Aidt, author of Baboon (ebook)

Her short story collection, which won the Nordic Council Literature Prize, depicts moments where ordinary lives are disrupted by sudden, often unsettling, revelations or shifts in emotion. A selection from Baboon by this native of Greenland appears in Best European Fiction 2010.

Benny Andersen, author of Svante’s Songs

One of Denmark's most beloved modern poets and authors is celebrated for his warm humor, playful use of language, and profound humanism.

Hans Christian Andersen, author of The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Red Shoes, and The Ugly Duckling

Universally celebrated for his fairy tales, Andersen possessed an unparalleled ability to weave enchanting narratives that, beneath their charming simplicity, explore profound truths about the human condition.

His stories often carry a melancholic yet hopeful undertone, addressing themes of sacrifice, identity, and social pretense.

Vita Andersen, author of Shut Up and Be Beautiful

Her groundbreaking work in the 1970s gave a stark voice to the experiences of women, particularly their feelings of loneliness, alienation, and the pressures of societal expectations. Her collection of short stories, Shut Up and Be Beautiful, and her poetry collection Security Junkies resonated due to its honesty and directness.

Karen Blixen (Isak Dineson), author of Babette’s Feast (eaudiobook), Out of Africa,  Shadows on the Grass (ebook) and Winter’s Tale

Writing under the pen name Isak Dinesen for her English works, Blixen captivated readers with her aristocratic voice and exquisitely crafted narratives.

Her most famous work, the memoir Out of Africa, recounts her experiences managing a coffee plantation in Kenya in the early 20th century. Her storytelling is marked by a sophisticated, almost mythical quality, exploring themes of fate, courage, and the intricate dance between cultures with an unmatched elegance and poignancy.

Harald Bluetooth, author of The Jelling Stone

The most famous runestone is the Jelling Stone, erected in the 960s by Bluetooth in memory of his parents, King Gorm and Queen Thyra. In his verse, Harald also celebrates his conquest of Denmark and Norway and his conversion to Christianity. The Bluetooth system on your phone is named after Harald.

Anders Bodelsen, author of Think of a Number 

A significant proponent of the "New Realism" movement, Bodelsen was particularly known for his socially conscious crime novels and psychological thrillers. Think of a Number follows an ordinary bank clerk whose impulsive decision during a robbery ensnares him in a web of deceit and paranoia.

Suzanne Brøgger, author of Deliver Us From Love and The Jade Cat

From her sensational debut Deliver Us from Love onwards, Brøgger employed a confessional, often autobiographical style to explore themes of female desire, independence, and the constraints of traditional marriage and family structures.

Leif Davidsen, author of The Sardine Deception and The Serbian Dane

This political thriller writer draws upon his extensive experience as a foreign correspondent, particularly in Russia and Central Europe.

Books like The Sardine Deception skillfully weave intricate plots of espionage, political intrigue, and personal conflict against meticulously researched international backdrops.

Tove Ditlevsen, author of The Copenhagen Trilogy and Sculptor’s Daughter

The Copenhagen Trilogy offers a raw and poignant account of her working-class upbringing, her aspirations to become a writer, and her subsequent struggles with fame, troubled relationships, and addiction.

Jakob Ejersbo, author of the Africa trilogy

His posthumously published Africa Trilogy, beginning with Exile, draws on his own experiences growing up in Tanzania, depicting the harsh realities, cultural clashes, and personal struggles faced by young expatriates and locals.

Saxo Grammaticus, author of The Deeds of the Danes

The book told the story of the first Danish kings and contained the tale of Prince Amletus, better known to most as Hamlet, who later served as the model for Shakespeare's famous play.

Jens Christian Grøndahl, author of Often I Am Happy and Silence in October

This highly regarded novelist’s works delve into the complexities of love, memory, and personal identity with remarkable psychological acuity.

Helle Helle, author of This Should Be Written in the Present Tense

This Should Be Written in the Present Tense exemplifies her well-regarded minimalist approach, centering on Dorte, a young woman whose seemingly uneventful existence and sparse dialogues reveal a deeper sense of drift and underlying emotional complexity.

Peter Høeg, author of The Elephant Keepers’ Children, The History of Danish Dreams, The Quiet Girl, Smilla’s Sense of Snow and The Woman and the Ape

Høeg rose to international prominence with his critically acclaimed novel Smilla's Sense of Snow. This literary thriller features Smilla Qaavigaaq Jaspersen, a Greenlander living in Copenhagen, whose intimate knowledge of snow and ice leads her to suspect foul play in the death of a young Inuit boy.

Høeg masterfully blends a compelling mystery with profound explorations of cultural identity, alienation, and the impact of colonialism.

Jens Peter Jacobsen, author of Niels Lyhne

Jacobsen’s masterpiece was first published in 1880 and heralded as a critical success. Jacobsen's novel follows the life of the titular character, a dreamy and romantic aspiring poet who struggles to make sense of a cruel and indifferent world.

Carsten Jensen, author of We, the Drowned

His epic novel is a sweeping multi-generational saga centered on the seafaring town of Marstal, chronicling the lives, adventures, and hardships of its sailors from the mid-19th century to the aftermath of World War II.

Pia Juul, author of The Murder of Halland

The Murder of Halland subverts crime fiction tropes, focusing more on the widow's disorienting grief, fragmented memories, and the unreliable nature of truth than whodunit.

Søren Kierkegaard, author of Fear and Trembling,  Philosophical Fragments and Sickness Unto Death (all ebooks)

A towering figure in 19th-century thought, Kierkegaard is widely regarded as the "father of existentialism." His philosophical writings, often presented through pseudonyms and complex literary structures, delve into the nature of individual existence, faith, anxiety, and the subjective experience of truth.

Niviaq Korneliussen, author of Homo Sapienne (2014 debut) and Last Night in Nuuk

Last Night in Nuuk (2020) follows the lives of five young Greenlanders exploring their identities at the cusp of adulthood. Niviaq Korneliussen, who writes in Danish and Greenlandic (an Eskimo-Aleut language) is considered a ground-breaking young writer hailed for creating "[her] own genre" (Politiken, Denmark) and the winner of the 2021 Nordic Council Literature Prize. 

Henning Jakob Henrik Lund (Intel'eraq), author of many Lutheran hymns and national anthem of Greenland

The Greenlandic lyricist, painter, and Lutheran pastor wrote the lyrics to This is a Wonderful Country (Nunarput, utoqqarsuanngoravit) in his native Greenlandic. It became the unofficial national anthem in 1912. 

Svend Åge Madsen, author Days with Diam

This highly original and inventive author known for his playful, philosophical, and often labyrinthine novels that challenge conventional narrative structures and explore the nature of reality, identity, and storytelling itself.

Ib Michael, author of Prince

Michael is renowned for his imaginative and adventurous novels that often blend magical realism with vivid depictions of exotic locales and a deep connection to nature and myth.

Martin Andersen Nexø, author of Pelle the Conqueror

His most famous work, the multi-volume epic Pelle the Conqueror is a powerful and empathetic portrayal of poverty, exploitation, and the labor movement, celebrating the resilience, dignity, and revolutionary spirit of ordinary people striving for a better life.

Dorthe Nors, author of Mirror, Shoulder, Signal; So Much for that Winter: Stories and Wild Swims: Stories

Her novel Mirror, Shoulder, Signal follows Sonja, a woman in her forties navigating a period of transition, learning to drive, and grappling with loneliness and the search for connection. Nors' writing often features quirky characters and captures the anxieties and absurdities of modern existence with a unique blend of empathy and dark humor.

Henrik Pontoppidan, author of Emanuel, Children of the Soil and Lucky Per

A Nobel laureate in Literature (1917), Pontoppidan is one of the major figures of Danish realism, renowned for his critical depictions of society at the turn of the 20th century.

Lucky Per follows the ambitious and conflicted Per Sidenius as he rebels against his religious upbringing to pursue engineering and success in Copenhagen.

The novel offers a profound exploration of identity, ambition, disillusionment, and the complex interplay between individual aspiration and societal forces, providing a panoramic view of Denmark during a period of significant social and intellectual change.

Morten Ramsland, author of Doghead

He achieved widespread acclaim for his sprawling, imaginative family saga Doghead, which skillfully blends dark humor, magical realism, and poignant storytelling.

The novel recounts the turbulent and eccentric history of a Norwegian-Danish family through several generations, as remembered by the protagonist Asger.

Klaus Rifbjerg, author of Chronic Innocence

The towering and immensely prolific figure in post-war Danish literature was a novelist, poet, playwright, and critic who constantly experimented with form and subject matter.

His debut novel, Chronic Innocence, a frank and controversial portrayal of teenage sexuality and angst in the 1950s, established him as a key voice of modernist sensibility.

Hans Scherfig, author of Stolen Spring

The celebrated author and artist was best known for his biting satirical novels that critique bourgeois society, the education system, and the inadequacies of justice.

Villy Sørensen, author of Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Stories

Best known as a short-story writer, the absurdist is sometimes called “the Danish Kafka.”

Kirsten Thorup, author of Baby, Bonsai, The God of Chance and Memories of Love

This acclaimed novelist and poet whose work often explores the lives of marginalized individuals, the complexities of family relationships, and the impact of societal forces on personal destinies.