Emily Forever

Emily Forever by Maria Navarro Skaranger, translated by Martin Aitken, is a beautiful and particular coming-of-age novel about a pregnant young woman who lives in a world of her own." ―Jennifer Croft, 5 Must-Read Books by Women in Translation

"Emily Forever presents its young, pregnant, working-class protagonist through a kaleidoscope. The sharpness of the details describing Emily's changing life are softly satirical-and her dulled responses leave her something of an enigma. A quietly rebellious novel that sees Emily through the lens of others, the 19-year-old expectant mother refuses to grasp for something to make meaning of her life, stubbornly defying societal expectations."―Electric Literature

"Emily is nineteen years old, works at the supermarket, and is pregnant. Her boyfriend Pablo has gone out ‘to take care of something’ and hasn’t returned. Her mother, who raised Emily alone, moves into the little apartment to help. Emily Forever is a properly defiant novel. It refuses to be categorized. Yes, it deals with class and poverty, but it’s just as much about our gaze on the so-called poor and powerless. Maria Navarro Skaranger has written an intelligent, ironic, vital, and poetic novel, which with its many changes of narrative perspective challenges the reader’s expectations and ideas. With its defiant attitude, Skaranger reminds us that the story of the passive, drowsy, and not very future-oriented Emily is very much one worth telling." ―Jury, the Critics’ Prize (Norway)

“Skaranger writes with wisdom and heart about the anybodies of society in this brilliant novel. Skaranger is a glowing literary talent, and part of what makes this novel so rich is its inquiring, critical, observing narrative voice.”―Dagens Nærings

“A profoundly beautiful book about a rudderless existence that seems genetically conditioned. Skaranger’s warm prose and deeply felt sympathy for Emily glows throughout the novel.”―Dagbladet

“In beautiful, intuitive prose, Maria Navarro Skaranger shows how class contempt is expressed in Norway. A fantastic book.”―Vårt Land

“In a novel distinguished by intelligence and nuanced prose, Maria Navarro Skaranger follows her confused main character into a new life phase. Her body of work exudes a peculiar, beautiful energy.”―Klassekampen

“There are many reasons why Emily Forever is a fantastic book. To me, the narrative voice is the most important; it is through this that Maria Navarro Skaranger approaches her main character, a poor 19-year-old girl who is about to become a single mother, with a peculiar mix of closeness and distance—and also wonder, tenderness, and subtle humor.”―Ulla Svalheim, Vårt Land, Best Books of 2021

“I have read many novels about class, class journeys, and social inequality over the past year. Many of them have been good, but none have woven together the structural and the individual, the political and the existential, as elegantly as Maria Navarro Skaranger does in Emily Forever. A gorgeous book!”―Ingeborg Misje Bergem, Vårt Land, Best Books of 2021

“This might very well be how the world how is for ‘the girl at the check-out counter at the supermarket,’ who parents use to scare their children with when they refuse to do their homework. Skaranger portrays such a woman for better or worse. She hopes with her, struggles with her, breathes with her. It is deeply moving.”―Marianne Lystrup, Vårt Land, Best Books of 2021

“Maria Navarro Skarang