Listen up!
Hør her'a!
It’s the summer holidays and 15-year-old Mahmoud pictures long days on the bench outside his block of flats. Norwegian Norwegians go off on their summer holidays, but what do penniless immigrants do?
All the same, though, this summer will be different because the family has a visit from Uncle Ji from Pakistan, and Mahmoud is given the job of showing his uncle around Oslo. Uncle Ji is amazed by Norway and then he starts to wonder what’s wrong with Ali, Mahmoud’s little brother – the one who plays with Elsa dolls and doesn’t behave the way Pakistani boys are supposed to.
Before the summer is over, Mahmoud will be put to the test – both as the son and brother of his Pakistani family.
Listen up! is a firework of a novel. It renders a community of minorities in a truly original and distinctive voice.
Winner of the LUCHS of the Year 2022 (Germany), the Ministry of Culture’s First Book Prize 2021, and LO’s Literature Prize 2021
Nominated for the 2020 Brage Prize, the 2020 Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize, the 2021 Youth Prize and the 2021 Book Blogger Prize
‘Charms the readers off their feet (…) must be the freshest breath of air among this fall’s titles.’
NRK
Very, very good book! (…) powerful and noisy book debut that forces both its protagonist and its readers to confront their own prejudices. (…) This is a truly good and important YA novel. (…) almost impossible to put down.’
VG, 5 out of 6 stars
‘(…) this debut should be purchased in class sets for junior high students.’
Adresseavisen, 5 out of 6 stars
