Vigdis Hjorth
Line Norman Hjorth

Like It or Lump It. The Year We Got Cancer

Kul i brystet. Året vi ble syke

Like It or Lump It is a book about the sudden upheaval and change a serious diagnosis can cause.

In the spring of 2023, mum-of-two Line Norman Hjorth was diagnosed with breast cancer. Barely six months later her mother – author Vigdis Hjorth – received the exact same diagnosis. In this book, where the narrative switches between mother and daughter, we follow the two women through their treatment as both patient and next of kin. Two roles that were completely new for them both, and two roles which can be difficult to balance – and which mother and daughter manage in very different ways. They go through the highs and lows, both in terms of medical treatment and their parent-child relationship. But at least they both got new boobs as part of the process!

This is an exceptionally moving story – unsentimental and poignantly narrated.

‘Mother and daughter Hjorth’s story about having cancer is in every way heartbreakingly good.’

Dagbladet, 6/6 stars

‘Mother and daughter Hjorth are not the first to write their way through an encounter with cancer, but the complexity of being both patient and next of kin at the same time gives their story a dimension of its own. And in times like these, it certainly doesn’t hurt that readers get a well-written and deeply engaging insight into what a social masterpiece the Nordic health systems are.’

Stavanger Aftenblad, 5/6 stars

‘[…] create a community with this book about their own experiences with cancer. […] therapeutic reading.’

Klassekampen
Photo: Lina Hindrum

Vigdis Hjorth (b. 1959) has over several decades been one of Norway’s most important authors. She published her debut in 1983 in form of the children’s book Pelle-Ragnar and the Yellow Building, for which she received the Norwegian Cultural Council’s Debut Prize. Since then, she has had a prolific and award-winning authorship, writing for both children and adults. She has won several awards in Norway and has been nominated twice for the Nordic Council Literature Prize so far, for Will and Testament (2016) and Is Mother Dead (2020).

Hjorth writes existential books about human conditions and life choices, and throws a sharp gaze at current topics in the contemporary time. With novels such as Long Live the Post Horn! (2012) she has made her mark as a fearless political author. Her big breakthrough came in 2016 with Will and Testament, which became an instant favourite among literature critics as well as a huge sales success. In this novel Hjorth writes about complicated family relationships, about violation and liberation in close relationships, and the right to own one’s own story. Will and Testament was nominated for the National Book Award and Millions Best Translated Book Award when it was published in the US and the UK in 2019. In 2022 Is Mother Dead came out in English, and it was longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Award. Hjorth’s novels have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Line Norman Hjorth is an associate professor in general literature at the University of Bergen. She also holds a master’s degree in film studies from the University of Copenhagen. She made her debut as an author in 2021 with the non-fiction book Credibility in the courtroom, and has co-written books with her mother Vigdis Hjorth.