Not People I Can Depend On
One day, after twenty years of marriage, Svein stood in front of the microwave and declared he no longer had feelings for me. It was 2014, and he probably still thinks I never gave him enough love and that’s why the relationship ended. More people probably believe his version than mine, too, but that’s because his sphere of influence has been bigger: there’s much more traffic at Autopartner than at the municipal office.
Not People I Can Depend On is about Linda Hansen, a mother of two and a municipal employee. It’s a novel about realizing that your husband is chasing after Veronika Hagen, the only woman in the village with a modicum of glamor. It’s a book about pride, shame—and a growing desire for revenge.
«… a novel worth the wait. With it, Kyrre Andreassen achieves the magical thing that literature can do at its best: It makes us who read it reflect upon our own lives.»
«There is something liberating to it when Andreassen breathes life into the little devil that reside within many of us.»
«Bitter, furious and exceedingly funny novel from Kyrre Andreassen.»
«[Andreassen’s] characteristic style is just as energetic in this year’s novel. With a wonderful, exuberant vocabulary, Andreassen gorges in the flaws of people and small-town communities. He takes the pulse of Norwegian everyday life with stylistic elegance.»
«Kyrre Andreassen’s novels convey a unique insight into the Norwegian language, culture, and society.»
«Kyrre Andreassen gives us a powerful, down-to-earth portrait of loss, betrayal, and the painful search for meaning.»
«Not People I Can Depend On is a brilliant novel.»
«One of the funniest books thos autumn, and certainly one of the better ones»
«Kyrre Andreassen writes richly and powerfully about the greatness of a little life.»
«From now on, I’ll measure everything I read against Not People I Can Depend On, because it’s a perfect novel. I was so captivated by this book that I can’t stop talking about it. Linda Hansen might have expressed herself more modestly than I am now, but I’ll allow myself to say that this is the most painful and humorous portrayal of a person in crisis I’ve ever read.»
«Linda Hansen instantly became one of my favorite literary characters—not because I would have liked her so much in real life, but because she is both ruthless, wonderful, and stubborn, both magnificent and shattered at the same time. Kyrre Andreassen's brilliant authorship is full of crooked, self-righteous, and vulnerable protagonists, with completely convincing narrative voices that are impossible to resist. Not People I Can Depend On is a novel you read in one sitting, with dark, delightful laughter and an ache in your heart.»