they: 'The literary masterpiece of 2026' - Stylist Paperback – 5 Feb. 2026
by Helle Helle (Author), Martin Aitken (Translator)
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'One of my favourite writers' OLGA RAVN, author of The Wax Child
 
From the award-winning Danish writer: an exquisite portrait of a mother and daughter, exploring all that is said and all that is not.
 
'They go for a walk by the playing fields, the anemones are out.'
In the small Danish town of Rødby, a mother and her sixteen-year-old daughter live uneventfully, each day marked by routine and a quiet intimacy. Together, they are a family; complete, content – and fragile.
 
When the mother begins to feel unwell, everything and nothing changes. They go about their lives, talk about anything but the diagnosis. The daughter takes tentative steps into adulthood. Still, illness – and the possibility of loss – cast an expansive shadow over the rituals of daily life.
 
they is a tender and piercing exploration of a mother–daughter relationship, brought into startling focus by Helle Helle's distinctive, immediate prose.
 
'You laugh and laugh, cry and cry. Not bawling or sobbing, but quiet and intense. That's what it’s like reading Helle Helle.' Politiken