Something That Helps
with Kari Dickson (Translator)
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Pub Date Oct 6 2026 | Archive Date Nov 1 2026
Literary Press Group of Canada | Book*hug Press
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Description
From acclaimed Norwegian writer Mona Høvring comes an intimate and stirring coming-of-age and sexual awakening story of a young woman following her own path to destruction and reconciliation.
Laura is in her late teens, living in a small coastal town in Western Norway, the summer before her final year of school. Haunted by the death of her mother by suicide, she has a strained relationship with her fisherman father and feels the absence of her brother and closest friend, both of whom have moved away. Equal parts lonely and bewildered, a lack of guidance has made her independent, determined, and vulnerable.
When Laura meets the older, more experienced Vivian Koller, the encounter sets in motion a series of events that will come to define her and her future. Crucial influences converge, pushing the simultaneously childish and adult protagonist into dark places—and eventually toward the start of a new life.
A Note From the Publisher
• A sensual and poetic coming of age and queer sexual awakening novel.
• Key themes are growing up and coming into your own, sexuality and sexual awakening, grief, loss, and loneliness.
• Beautiful poetic prose that is lush, wild, intoxicating, sensual, frank, and tender.
• This evocative, slim novel is set in a small Norwegian coastal town; the sea, swimming, and boats feature prominently in the book.
• Høvring is a celebrated literary novelist and poet in Norway known for vivid and sensual books that explore the inner lives of her characters, especially young girls searching for identity.
• Originally published in Norwegian 20 years ago, this is the first English-language translation of this important early work from Høvring's bibliography.
• Comparable titles include Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Call Me By Your Name by Andre Acimen, and Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan.
Advance Praise
“Mona Høvring’s Something That Helps brings with it one of those rare reading experiences, where the narrative functions not like set pieces, or shifting snapshots of reality, but as the entirety of the world its perfectly drawn characters live in. Economical, rhythmic in ways that express the emotional depth and complexity of its protagonist and the people that move in and out of her physical and psychic corporeality, Something That Helps, masterfully translated by Kari Dickson, is a perfectly crafted novel and a tour de force by an exceptional writer in her prime.”—Beatriz Hausner, author of She Who Lies Above
“Sensuous and masterfully constructed, Something That Helps is a moving and poetic narrative that unleashes its subtle power through vivid imagery and evocative vulnerability.”—Jennifer LoveGrove, author of The Tinder Sonnets
Marketing Plan
• Digital and print ARCs
• Author will visit Toronto to participate in Toronto International Festival of Authors
• Additional author event planned at Type Books in Toronto
• Digital and print ARCs
• Author will visit Toronto to participate in Toronto International Festival of Authors
• Additional author event planned at Type Books in Toronto
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781771669801 |
| PRICE | CA$24.95 (CAD) |
| PAGES | 144 |