Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs
Martha, Martha
marta marta
Genre: Novel
Publisher: Ungu Føroyar
Year: 2024
Pages: 214
ISBN: 978-99918-889-8-9
English sample translation available
When she was nineteen years old, Martha spent time at a kibbutz in the Jordan Valley. It was 1993, and she made a conscious effort to process her experiences in the context of the region’s political and religious tensions. Now, thirty years later, when an Israeli friend visits her in the Faroe Islands, the Holy Land remains an open wound, more so than ever. Martha wonders why it is so difficult to see the situation for what it truly is.
At its core, the book thematises the question of taking a stand. What does it mean to take a position, to hold an opinion, and maybe change it? Where does our loyalty lie, and what does it mean to go against it?
Photo: JDK-foto
Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs (b. 1974) is a prominent voice on the Faroese literary scene. She writes not only novels, but has also published children’s books, young adult fiction, poetry collections, short stories, and plays. Marjun has received numerous awards, the most recent being the M.A. Jacobsen Award for Literary Works 2025 for the book Marta, Marta. Her works have been translated into the Nordic languages as well as English, German, and French.
Awards and recognition
Nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2026
Faroese National Literature Prize (M.A. Jacobsen) 2025
Rights sold to
Iceland
Previous titles include
Gentukamarið, 2022
Karmageitin, 2022
Sum rótskot, 2020
Óendaliga vera, 2016
Rights
Ungu Føroyar
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