A short novel about a teenaged girl growing up with a very neurotic mother who spews anxiety like it’s going out of fashion. We follow the protagonist as she navigates friendship, romance and her mother and we see how her Mother’s anxiety exacerbates her own.

The twist at the end was completely unexpected and made the story all the more sad and profound.

An interesting read for sure.

The unnamed protagonist revisits the time when she was 16 and her mother was constantly monitoring her behaviour in case she went off the rails with boys and alcohol. What follows is the story of a difficult period, of self awareness and also secrecy.

As the novel is translated from the original Norwegian, the book is quite wordy and less adjectives would have served the writing more. Sexual abuse by the protagonist's father is very hidden in the text although the author may have wanted it this way., I had to reread several passages to ensure I hadn't missed any details.

Overall more of a novella, it would have benefitted from some more editorial decisions..

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Judging by the reviews from other readers in the native language of this book, I am beginning to feel the defect is less so with the story and more so with me.

Unfortunately, I simply didn’t connect with the main character, and I didn’t find the prose was particularly standout either. I think I hoped for something with more punch based on the description of the book, but it just didn’t have much at all.

Perhaps I was just not quite the kind of teenager that this book refers to, and I just didn’t feel anything when it came to the connection that the reader is clearly meant to have to the protagonist.

Even though the book is short, certainly short enough to be considered novella length, I found it repetitive in places (given the title, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised!). I just felt like I was reading drips and drabs of consciousness that didn’t quite come together for me, and it left me feeling that it was a rather empty story.

Not for me, but perhaps for others it’s a far more engaging read!

this book floored me. i really couldn't anticipate "the twist," though it doesn't feel right to call it that. i loved the stream-of-consciousness style, and at first i thought it was a book about the psychological effects of a controlling mother. the horror that ensued when i reexamined small details in light of her reveal that nothing at all was as it seemed--the house was from nightmares, her father's attitude a dismissal, and the truth behind his wonder if she bled...wow. short and masterful, and definitely wants to make me read more by this author. really a book that will stay with me forever.

Repetition captures the essence of being a sixteen year-old girl, when everything matters so intensely, with a simultaneous, desperate sense that everything will matter even more in a few short years. The novel is a short read, clocking in at 144 pages in my edition, most of which are spent on one month in the narrator’s life at sixteen. The novel emphasizes the loneliness of this age, while acknowledging the narrator’s limited perspective as a teenager through flashforward to the frame narrative of the narrator’s contemplation.
The narrator, her mother, and her father are strongly characterized, with incredibly specific and nuanced relationships. Similarly, there is a profound and melancholy sense of distance between the narrator and those in her life, including her friends and siblings. Again, this reflects something inherent in being a teenager – the sense that no one else “gets it”, regardless of whether they do or don’t.
I found the novel to be well-paced. It never plodded like highly contemplative literary fiction can, even with the motifs of repetition throughout the back third of the book. The sense of Norwegian November is also very atmospheric.
Ultimately, this is a novel that will stick with me as perhaps one of the best examples of those tender, aching moments before adulthood.

I am so impressed by what the author has accomplished in so little space. The book is about a woman reflecting on a pivotal time in her teenage years, focusing on how she’s navigating relationships with her peers with a domineering and anxious mother looming always.

The prose is simple, beautiful, and effective. The theme of repetition is mentioned over and over throughout the story as an overarching main idea but also in more subtle ways, elaborating on a description again in a similar way as was just said for example. It drives home the focus on doing the same things over and over and really envelops the reader in this idea of repeating past behaviors. The mother forces her own anxieties on our teenage protagonist and the reader really feels that suffocating overwhelm of knowing whatever is done will be the wrong choice and the accompanying shame of already being disappointing. The pacing is fast but appropriate and engaging.

“Hope is like a new garment - stiff, tight and glittering - but until you try it on, you won't know if it fits or suits you, while memory is like an old garment: no matter how pretty it is, it no longer suits you, you've outgrown it. Repetition, however, is like a durable garment that hugs you tenderly, but never constricts or swamps you.”

This book was such a unique perspective on a young woman growing up, coming into her own, and the reckoning that follows for the rest of her life. It was powerful and moving and I loved it.

Thank you to Net Galley, Verso Books, and the author for allowing me the opportunity to review. All opinions are my own.

4.5 ⭐️. "they chased me away and then blamed me for leaving."

wow I am left speechless. this book knocked it out of me. The final twist was something I never saw coming and I am left gutted by it. I felt so much pain and anxiety for this FMC, and left a deep longing to reach out and hug this vulnerable girl. such spectacular writing!

thank you to Verso Books and NetGalley for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a haunting, meditative novel that works like a long exhale—delicate, deliberate, and heavy with everything left unsaid. Set against the stark backdrop of a Norwegian November, where daylight is scarce and silence stretches long, the story unfolds not through action but through reflection, and it is all the more powerful for it.

From a single moment—a novelist sitting beside a teenage girl at the opera—memories unravel, layered with longing, shame, and tenderness. The author explores adolescence with aching precision.

The prose is spare yet intimate, and every sentence feels carefully chosen, like a note in a minimalist composition. It captures the hazy border between past and present, observation and confession. What emerges is a portrait of a woman haunted not by any catastrophic event, but by the slow accumulation of sacrifices, secrets, and unspoken choices that shaped her.

This novel doesn’t shout—but it doesn’t need to. It lingers in the dark, asking what it means to carry a life within you through mothering and remembering.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Observing an angry teenager and her needling parents at a concert sends the novel's narrator back in time, to when she was coming of age under the thumb of a controlling, frightened, unhappy mother who suspects the worst of her daughter. Tension builds with each attempt the girl makes to move away from her claustrophobic home life, without her ever understanding its origins -- until she does. The reader suspects it before the narrator, but is helplessly pulled along to the devastating revelation and conclusion.

I found the language and pacing of the book compelling, and was drawn in without knowing (or at first caring) the degree to which it is autofiction, and whether or how it brings out new details of Hjorth's own life story. I suspect knowing all of that might make the book even more interesting to some readers, but the novel also certainly succeeds on its own.

Wow. This was touching, heartbreaking, real—and deeply familiar. My first Hjorth novel, and I was completely entranced by her way with words. She captures the emotional intensity of adolescence, where feelings run deep but understanding is still forming, and contrasts it beautifully with the reflective clarity of adulthood.

True to its title, the repetition throughout—“oh leave the girl alone” from the father, “it’s hard being a human being,” the mother’s hysteria and knowing vigilance—created a rhythmic, almost haunting tension. It felt so true to the experience of growing up as a teenage girl.

The imagery of crossing the landscape between adulthood and one's younger self really moved me. I found this book quietly powerful and deeply resonant.

This novel didn’t move me to tears, but it left a subtle, lingering sadness that was hard to define. The prose is lyrical and rich with metaphor, though its complexity occasionally made it difficult to stay anchored. Once I adapted to the style, I was drawn in.

What stood out most was the focus on the quiet aftermath of trauma and the way it reshapes relationships and leaves lasting, often invisible marks.

A moving and thoughtful read that rewards readers who are willing to sit with its emotional depth and complexity.

A. Writing Style
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Beautifully written, with skillful prose and vivid imagery.

B. Character Development
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Deeply compelling, dynamic characters whose journeys resonate emotionally and intellectually.

C. Plot
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Well-crafted and thoughtful plot with meaningful developments and conflicts.

D. Theme
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Rich, nuanced themes that challenge the reader and provoke deep introspection.

E. Emotional Impact
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Deeply affecting; the story evokes strong emotions and stays with you after reading.

F. Overall Enjoyment/Impact
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Highly enjoyable, leaving you thinking and reflecting long after the book ends.

This story was beautifully written and keeping me interested until a bit over half of it. Evethough it begin to repeating itself the last 30% part of the story which could’ve easily taken away - I enjoyed it a lot. Missing one star only because of the last parts repeatetiness.

I was also able to relate to the main characters feelings of anxiety and deep trauma that was reflected from her teenage years and parents own struggles. This book absolutely touched some deep parts of myself and I could not put it down. Loved the 65% of it and got me definitely interested to review Hjorth’s other ones.

This book is mostly for any type of anxious and trauma-mood reading, not neccesarily for the plot itself - and if that is what you sometimes look for, this would be something for you.
I went in slighty blind and I was not disappointed.

Repetition, written by Vigdis Hjorth translated by Charlotte Barslund, is a literary fiction novel that delves deeply into the complexities of family dynamics, memory, trauma, and the struggle for personal identity. It was not an easy read honestly, but it haunts me in the best way. The protagonist is a woman who is navigating her turbulent relationship with her father, her mother's fears and anxieties, her past trauma, and the question of whether to continue living a life shaped by her family's expectations.

The novel is centered around the theme of repetition, how we find ourselves endlessly revisiting our past, struggling to escape the same patterns, and questioning the choices that have brought us to where we are. It amazed me how well the writer developed these ideas, and how she repeated them throughout the chapters without making it feel tedious. It's fascinating.

It didn't make me cry, but it did make me feel a kind of a quiet, heavy sadness, a slow ache. Not overwhelming, it was a sadness I couldn't fully name, though I could definitely feel it. Especially at the last few chapters, it touched me so deeply that I didn't even realize I was in tears.

The writing is beautiful, literary, and poetic which I like. I loved the metaphors and layers, but I also found the long, winding sentences a bit challenging. Sometimes it felt like I was getting lost in the prose, not always sure where I was being led. It is not a book to rush through, it demands your patience and attentions.

This book is about trauma and also about survival, about how we tell ourselves the same stories over and over, trying to make sense of what went wrong. It's introspective, complex, and deeply personal. If you enjoy layered, emotional fiction, don't mind sitting with uncomfortable truth, and resonate with the themes I've mentioned, this book is for you.

It's not for everyone, but it was for me. And if it finds you at the right time, it resonates. It came to me at the right time, and it truly spoke to me.

My rating 4/5 stars.

This book is about a woman reflecting on the time around her 16 birthday, focusing on her relationship with her parents and her attempts to break free. She behave as her friends behave and yet feels so much pressure which she struggles to understand. I found it such a moving book. I do think within the book there is a theme of sexual abuse, without any details and if you read quickly you could even miss it with only a few sentences. I do think there should be a trigger warning for books as there are for films, and know that could also be seen as a spoiler, hence spoiler alert. I was glad I didn’t know before I read it, if I had I might have passed on it. Both parents behaviour is so abhorrent. The reveal is gut wrenching but there are plenty of red flags warning you and also you do know she is in a safe place when she is older, well that’s what I’ve decided.
It is a poetic book and the structure is so different than most, there is not a great deal written on many of the pages and yet it feels like so much effort has been put into the book. I struggled at the start and then about half way through I couldn’t put the book down. I love a book that has been interpreted into English, I think you can feel that the story has been created by 2 different people, one who wrote it and then one who carefully considered what would be the best word to convey the meaning in another language. I would definitely like to read more from this author. I think it feels very visceral and reminds me so much of the sense of claustrophobia at this age. I know I could write this from an intellectual, analytical perspective and yet for me that’s not how I experienced this book, for me it felt very emotional and personal.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for my consideration this is all my own rambling, honest and personal opinions.

Repetition by Vigdis Hjorth follows the mind of an older woman reflecting on her experiences as a 16-year-old girl navigating a hyper-anxious mother and the experiences of coming into her sexuality. There is a hidden secret bubbling under the surface that she does not become aware of until 48 years later. This novel recounts the experiences of her 16th year through this new lens and processes the emotional impacts of yet-to-be-discovered trauma. The writing was a good representation of an anxious mind trying to make sense of messy, complex thoughts and emotions. 4.25 stars, only less than 5 because of long sentences that were somewhat difficult to read at first. After I became used to the writing style it became easier to immerse in the novel.

Thank you to Verso and NetGalley for the ARC!

2.5 stars

This may have been because of the translation, but I had a hard time reading this. The sentences were very long & broken up by so many commas, I felt like I had to catch my breath once I finally reached the end of a sentence. That being said, I found the story very relatable as a woman who was once a teenage girl with a dramatic & paranoid mother. The story was repetitive at times but I could easily put myself in the narrator’s shoes & feel every emotion she was feeling. I honestly felt for the narrator & was rooting for her to finally gain some semblance of freedom & flexibility.

Repetition reminded me of Knausgaard’s My Struggle, both of which I enjoyed. I also felt that she captured the teenage adolescent’s perspective of her mother in an interesting light. It made me question her perception of many things in the book, since her view may have been skewed. I enjoyed the immersive experience and recommend this book!

Vigdis Hjorth has such a unique style of writing that almost makes the reader start thinking in the same pattern as the narrator. I was anxious, self-conscious, hopeful, and crushed, just like the main character. I've already read Hjorth's previous novels that have been translated so I am aware of her personal history with her family -- highly recommend Will and Testament -- so I had an idea of what was lurking underneath the surface throughout. But even without explicitly saying what the character is dealing with, it becomes quite clear. Many women will relate to this coming of age story, especially those of us who have dealt with an overbearing mother.

While this is a somewhat moody read, there's still plenty of humor throughout. I always recommend Hjorth to library patrons, and I will definitely be recommending this title as well. It's a very quick read and leaves certain details vague enough that I think it would make for a good discussion book. It would be interesting to hear how different readers interpret different events.

Grateful to Verso and NetGalley for the ARC!

On a winter evening, the unnamed narrator is attending a concert where she is seated next to a teenage girl attending with her parents. Noticing the tension between the parents and their daughter, the narrator reflects on herself at age 16, when she rebelled against her overprotective mother to sneak out with her friends to meet boys.

This is the second novel that I've read by Vigdis Hjorth and I found it well-written and powerful. The writing is captivating and this story is written in such a way that it has to be consumed in one sitting, with long sentences that demonstrate the narrator's mental distress and stream of conscious remembrance about her parents' reactions to her minor acts of rebellion. Horth is singularly talented at evoking the emotional responses of young women and the writing in this novel is particularly gripping.

However, it may not be appropriate for all readers because of stylistic idiosyncrasies (lack of quotation marks, long stream of consciousness paragraph structure and an unnamed narrator are literary devices that not everyone appreciates), but also because of a heavy subject matter.

What an unexpectedly hard, but necessary, read. A story of toxic relationships within a toxic family, layered with dark secrets.
I loved the way it was written, it felt like I was inside the narrator’s head, spiraling down right alongside them.
The prose flowed so beautifully, I couldn’t stop reading-every sentence pulled me deeper.
Even though I sensed something tragic was coming, the ending still ripped my heart out.
A must-read for sure.

Thank you Verso Books and NetGalley for the ARC!