A teacher leaves a house in a town by the foot of the Alps. She hurries to the library, where she passes an elderly man, who continues to the swimming hall, where he meets a young man. In 24 hours the story runs from person to person throughout central Europe.

One of these people is looking for a dissertation on Tom and the Rabbit, the popular children’s book that Eivind Ness published before his serious, bestselling novels. Erik Andersen, a writer of the more inaccessible kind, wants to write a biography of Ness because of the children’s book. But he needs the cooperation of the author’s widow.

Years later, an older charity fundraiser stands in a doorway, wondering if she will recognize the young man and woman living in the house.

A novel in three independent, but interconnected parts, Easy Atonal Pieces for Children is as unpredictable and idiosyncratic as it is entertaining.

Shortlisted for the P2 Listeners’ Novel Prize 2016.