{"product_id":"toxic-9781916788138","title":"Toxic","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShamed schoolteacher, Mathilde, moves to a dairy farm in the Norwegian countryside for an 'easier life', but she's soon up to her old tricks ... upending and unsettling the lives of two reclusive farmers. Exquisitely written, razor-sharp and simmering with an unexpected tension, \u003ci\u003eToxic\u003c\/i\u003e marks the return of one of Norway's finest writers...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Flatland has the gift that I most often covet in the work of other writers: the ability to make everyday events compelling ... how the quietest existence can brim with urgency and drama  \u003cb\u003eAnn Morgan\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Helga Flatland writes with elegance and subtle humour  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Express\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  The author has been dubbed the Norwegian Anne Tyler and for good reason  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGood Housekeeping\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e -------------- \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e When Mathilde is forced to leave her teaching job in Oslo after her relationship with eighteen-year-old Jacob is exposed, she flees to the countryside for a more authentic life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Her new home is a quiet cottage on the outskirts of a dairy farm run by Andres and Johs, whose hobbies include playing the fiddle and telling folktales - many of them about female rebellion and disobedience, and seeking justice, whatever it takes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e But beneath the apparently friendly and peaceful pastoral surface of life on the farm, something darker and more sinister starts to vibrate and, with Mathilde's arrival, cracks start appearing ... everywhere. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ------------ \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Helga Flatland \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  The most beautiful, elegant writing I've read in a long time  \u003cb\u003eJoanna Cannon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Helga Flatland writes with such astuteness about families  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePrima\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  I absolutely loved its quiet, insightful generosity  \u003cb\u003eClaire King\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  So perceptive and clever  \u003cb\u003eR?n?n Hession\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Thoughtful and reflective  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  A beautifully written, bittersweet, moving and poignant ... a wise novel of great insight  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNB Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Poignant and beautifully written ... The prose and style, with the dialogue enveloped in the narrative, is intimate, evocative and moving  \u003cb\u003eKristin Gleeson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  I love the sophistication, directness and tenderness of this book  \u003cb\u003eClaire Dyer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  The most satisfying book that I've read in a long time ... masterful  \u003cb\u003eSara Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  A moving and exquisite read  \u003cb\u003eShelan Rodger\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHelga Flatland\u003c\/b\u003e is already one of Norway's most awarded and widely read authors. Her fifth novel, \u003ci\u003eA Modern Family\u003c\/i\u003e (her first English translation), was published to wide acclaim in Norway in August 2017, and was a number-one bestseller. The rights have subsequently been sold across Europe and the novel has sold more than 100,000 copies. \u003ci\u003eOne Last Time\u003c\/i\u003e was published in 2020 and is currently topping bestseller lists in Norway \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatt\u003c\/b\u003e is a British, Norwegian-to-English translator, born in Coventry in 1971. Matt studied at Derby University, and spent several years as a musician and songwriter. In 2001, Matt moved to Norway, working with graphic design and music, while gradually developing an interest in translation. Now he works full-time with authors, publishers, literary agencies, and film producers - within fiction and non-fiction. From climate science or animal philosophy - to Roman history and Russian punk. Matt recently translated Simon Stranger's acclaimed WW2 novel \u003ci\u003eKeep Saying Their Names.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Orenda Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50869506670866,"sku":"9781916788138","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f9615a56-43bb-4e4d-8a9d-27db329d7ce0.jpg?v=1737760436","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/toxic-9781916788138","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}