Odin's Island - Softcover

Sigbrit Holland is driving along a treacherous winter road. Out of nowhere, something looms into view and Sigbrit has to slam on her brakes to avoid it. Investigating, she is unnerved to find an unusually short man - barely one metre tall - frozen to the spot. Unable to leave him there, Sigbrit takes him to the hospital and tries to forget about him. This little man is something of an enigma. As word of his lack of identity (no passport, no social security number and no birth certificate) leaks out, church groups, nationalists, extremists and apparatchiks stake a claim for Odin. Bemused and frightened, Odin's only desire is to return 'home' - as soon as he recollects where that is. But as the conflict, which Odin has unwittingly caused, rises between the different groups, escape becomes surprisingly difficult. Sigbrit realises that she may be the only person who can help him. Chilling in its contemporary relevance, this journey from one man's loss, via religious extremism and political instability to violence and disenfranchisement, takes an unwavering look at what may yet become our own future.

JANNE TELLER was born to Austrian and Danish parents in Denmark, but since 1988 has lived all over the world. These days she splits her time between Milan, Paris and Copenhagen. Odin's Island was her first novel, and has been translated into five languages. Her second novel, Nothing, written for young adults, was awarded the Danish Cultural Ministry Prize for best children's/youth book of 2001. Teller has received numerous literary grants and awards over the years and her controversial books have repeatedly sparked heated debate in Denmark.