The Sami Problem
Sameproblemet
Marie has just become a mother for the first time. She lives in France, far away from her roots. When her áhkku – her mother’s mother – dies, she travels alone home to Finnmark, Norway’s northernmost county, to attend the funeral.
On her way back to her hometown, she decides to write áhkku’s story. It quickly turns into a story about the women in her family, about how oppression has marked the lives of her great-grandmother, her grandmother, her mother and herself, and about how her Sami background has shaped her worldview.
The Sami Problem is an investigation into what it means to be a Sami, a woman, a mother, daughter and granddaughter. It is a powerful novel about Sami culture, language and identity, and a both furious and clear-eyed reckoning with oppression, discrimination and bigotry towards one of Europe’s major indigenous peoples.
Winner of the 2024 Brage Prize for Best Fiction
Nominated for the 2024 Listeners’ Novel Prize
‘Fearless and furious. Kathrine Nedrejord’s new novel is a Sami indictment against the Norwegian majority society’s oppression, invisibility, mockery, and racism […] Marie Engmo’s narrative voice is sometimes subdued, but just as often intense and furious […] With this novel, Kathrine Nedrejord once again demonstrates her insistent will to analyze the difficult issues surrounding victim and perpetrator. She convinces, both in language and temperament.’
Dagbladet, 6/6 stars
‘She describes the northern Norwegian nature so closely that we almost feel the cold, clear air on our skin … Nedrejord does not let us forget. The novel is both a manifesto and a valuable informative book that should be read by everyone’
NRK, 6/6 stars
