Karate Chop: Stories (Lannan Translation Selection (Graywolf Paperback))
Acclaimed Danish novelist Nors could not have picked a more appropriate title for her new collection. These stories are swift and unexpected and bruising.  Nors’ insight into the strange nuances of human interactions, especially those rooted in violence or sorrow, is keen to the point of vivisection. In the span of two pages, she is able to both build and unmake a character, achieving the same complexity that other writers require entire novels to establish. What’s more, her protagonists are familiar and unsettling, with characteristics that echo in our psyches and ask us to call into question all we assume about ourselves and others. Karate Chop is the first of Nors’ books to be translated to English but certainly won’t be the last. Lovers of the art of literary fiction, students of psychology, and everyone looking for a quick, thought-provoking read should all indulge themselves in the subversive delight of this short story collection. --Amber Peckham