Reviews

• “An original and thought-provoking short-story collection, Small Comfort skewers its characters, slyly implicating the reader along the way. /…/ Money makes the world go round and Ia Genberg has a deep, clear-eyed vision of how. The dramatic distinctness of the five stories that make up Small Comfort speaks to the might of Genberg’s imaginative powers, while the intricate threads tying them together are testament to her subtleness as a thinker. It couldn’t work without Kira Josefsson’s staggeringly flexible translation, which also stands out for the naturalness of its dialogue and wonderfully rhythmic prose. This duo’s writing zings and smarts in all the right places as we see ourselves reflected in the characters, warts and all. Breathtakingly original, profound but with a delicious dose of irreverence.”

• “Small Comfort is simply a wonderful and exquisitely executed literary mini-study that makes the reader think of Joan Didion.”

• “I haven’t read anything better this year.”

• “Ia Genberg writes layered stories that resist easy categorization. They are a kind of tall tales that the author anchors in reality through precise portrayals of the ways people think, speak, and behave. The sharpness of Genberg’s powers of observation, her humor and delight in language make the stories crackle with life. /…/ Ia Genberg is a sharp stylist who effortlessly swings between the mundane and the profound.”

• “Genberg has a joy in language and precision in expression – a luxury car is described as being as close to a mammal as a car can get without ceasing to be a car. /…/ Genberg captures, with intelligence and insight, the afflictions of our time; that smooth, qualified bullshit talk that makes truth or lies seem irrelevant.”

• “If it sounds complicated, it is in fact very entertaining reading. /…/ It’s the best [book] I’ve read in quite a while.”