Karate Chop & Minna Needs Rehearsal Space

Two works by Dorthe Nors, a collection of short stories and a novella, are brought together for the first time. In Karate Chop, a children's psychologist, lost in self-doubt, examines her believed complicity in her own destruction; a man, obsessed with serial killers, turns to the internet to explore female violence; a mother and daughter travel to the World's End, in hope of finding their peace. In Minna Needs Rehearsal Space, Minna, musician, composer, artist, needs to find space to rehearse - or just space to get away. Away from the realities of life, from the meaningless interactions of our digital age, and from the loneliness of a relationship coming to an end. With stark, simple and stylishly original prose, Dorthe Nors explores the intricacies of modern existence and modern relationships. Reading like an antonym to our digital society, where much is said but little meaning is truly conveyed, Nors's meticulously structured work examines the complexity, and sometimes cruelty, of human psychology and desire.



Dorthe Nors was born in 1970 and studied literature and art history at the University of Aarhus. After publishing three novels, she wrote Karate Chop, her collection of short stories, in 2008 and Minna needs rehearsal space in 2013. She has seen her short stories in various publications, including The Boston Review, Harpers and The New Yorker, and has contributed to anthologies in Denmark and Germany. Having international acclaim, she lives in rural Jutland, Denmark.