Release the Handle As You Turn

A warm-hearted story about friendship and love across all boundaries.
But this is also a social satire in the same tradition as Gulliver’s Travels and its Nordic counterpart, Nils Klim’s Journey to the Underworld – a burlesque narrative that shifts between different realities, interconnected by black holes through which we move from Here to There in a terrifying twinkle of an eye!
I stared at the burning currant bush. Tried to catch a glimpse of who had hidden behind it. And I couldn’t stop myself from addressing her.
- “Lady,” I said cautiously. “Excuse me for asking … but I was under the impression that the Nameless One usually materialised in briar bush and not a currant one?”
- “Too true,” the voice replied. “But can you spot any nearby briars?”
- “No,” I admitted.
- “There you are, one has to make the best of what’s at hand,” the voice said. “And in my view, the currant bush is a perfectly good option. Burns just as well, too!”
“- Blessed Lady,” Jensen said unhappily, closing his eyes and burying his snout in the grass.
“- Never mind Jeremiah. He isn’t himself these days.”
- “Is that so?” The voice sounded concerned. “Who is he now?”
I’m standing at the window, looking out over the city. It is larger than ever. Like a huge octopus. Now the lights are going out. The long tentacles turn grey, one after the other. We’re slowly enveloped by darkness. All the same, I remain were I am. Anita comes along, approaches me carefully and puts her muzzle on my right shoulder. I look into her large, dark eyes.
- “But we’ll never make it together,” I whisper to her. “Because I’m waiting for someone else.”
Anita twists her head round and licks my face.
- “You mean the female who walks on two legs and can wiggle her toes?” she asks sadly.
- “That’s right,” I reply. “She is the one for me.”
Anita speaks on, but because my ears are located on my ankles it’s hard to pick up all she says.

Cappelen Damm 2011, 304 Pages
So far sold to: Germany (Onkel & Onkel)