To My Sister

To My Sister is a novel about the sisters Aya and Andrea. Aya gives birth to a daughter, Nola, after the father abandons her. Then a voice from the past resurfaces – which has far-reaching consequences for their lives. Nola on the back seat and a hunting rifle in the boot, the sisters drive to Sweden together. In the Swedish forests they regain the intimacy they shared in their youth. As Aya and Andrea hang out at provincial bars, run over a deer, swim in forest lakes and fantasize about killing Andrea’s violent exboyfriend, they reach a crossroads – and realize that they can no longer avoid facing up to the legacy of their past. 

To My Sister is a powerful novel about violence and deep human impulses, sexuality and brutality, motherhood and madness. It is about the right to tell your own story and let your voice be heard; not least, it speaks of the enduring solidarity between two sisters 

About the author 

Dy Plambeck (b. 1980) graduated from the Danish Writer’s School in 2004. She made her debut the year after with the poetry collection Buresø-fortællinger (Buresø stories). Her novels Texas Rose, Gudfar (Godfather) and Mikael were published in 2008, 2011 and 2014, respectively, followed by To My Sister in May 2019. Plambeck has also written books for children, and her work has been acknowledged with numerous prizes, including the Klaus Rifbjerg Debutante Prize for Poetry, a three-year stipend from the Danish Arts Foundation, the Jytte Borberg Prize and the Jeanne and Henry Nathansen Memorial stipend.

Text translated by Lin Falk van Rooyen