Black Cat 2019. Soft cover, 175 pp.
The highly acclaimed debut from an author profiled by the New Yorker as
her country's "unlikely literary star," Last Night in Nuuk follows the
lives of five young Greenlanders exploring their identities at the cusp
of adulthood. Niviaq Korneliussen is a ground-breaking young writer
hailed for creating "[her] own genre" (Politiken, Denmark) in her witty
and fearless debut Last Night in Nuuk. A work of daring invention about
young life in Greenland, Korneliussen brilliantly weaves together the
coming of age of five young people in the capital city, Nuuk. Fia has
recently sworn off sausage (men) only to discover that the woman she
wants is unavailable. Arnaq struggles to cope with her past as her
hard-partying life spirals out of control and she betrays those she
loves most. Inuk, Fia's brother, is forced to escape Greenland after
political scandal implicates him, and confronts the true meaning of
home. Meanwhile, Ivik and Sara must confront an important transition in
their relationship. In a collection of blurry nights and bleary mornings
after, Korneliussen creates a Greenlandic literature unlike any we have
known before--young, urbane, stream-of-consciousness, studded with
textspeak and delirious with nightlife. With vibrant imagery and daring
prose, Korneliussen writes unforgettably about finding yourself and
growing into the person you were meant to be. A stunning debut from a
brave new voice, Last Night in Nuuk is a dashing entrance onto the
literary scene and establishes her as a voice that cannot be ignored.