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Justine #1
Justine
Published with support from the Danish Arts Foundation
"The novel positively emanates energetic prose, as suspense-laden tracks which retain our interest in the female Don Juan who insists on not being a female Don Juan are generously laid bare."—Dag Heede, STANDART
Stylistically provocative, Justine tells the story of a young female artist whose life is upended when her house burns down with all of the paintings for her upcoming exhibit inside. With little time left to recreate everything she's lost, Justine embarks on a series of sexual escapades with a sort of doomed intensity that foreshadows the novel's final, dark twist.
Through flashbacks and fragmented memories, we see Justine as a student at the Art Academy first discovering the misogynistic order that rules the Danish art world, and later on as she constantly challenges its expectations—both in the studio and in bed.
A personal meditation on artistic identity, the creative process, and the male-dominated art scene, the novel veers between the erotic and the savage, resulting in a spellbinding read from one of Denmark's edgiest contemporary feminist writers.
Iben Mondrup is a trained visual artist from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts who is also the author of four novels, including Justine, its sequel, and Godhavn.
Kerri A. Pierce has published translations from seven different languages in a variety of genres—fiction and nonfiction, novel and short story. Her translation of The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am by Kjersti A. Skomsvold was a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
"The novel positively emanates energetic prose, as suspense-laden tracks which retain our interest in the female Don Juan who insists on not being a female Don Juan are generously laid bare."—Dag Heede, STANDART
Stylistically provocative, Justine tells the story of a young female artist whose life is upended when her house burns down with all of the paintings for her upcoming exhibit inside. With little time left to recreate everything she's lost, Justine embarks on a series of sexual escapades with a sort of doomed intensity that foreshadows the novel's final, dark twist.
Through flashbacks and fragmented memories, we see Justine as a student at the Art Academy first discovering the misogynistic order that rules the Danish art world, and later on as she constantly challenges its expectations—both in the studio and in bed.
A personal meditation on artistic identity, the creative process, and the male-dominated art scene, the novel veers between the erotic and the savage, resulting in a spellbinding read from one of Denmark's edgiest contemporary feminist writers.
Iben Mondrup is a trained visual artist from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts who is also the author of four novels, including Justine, its sequel, and Godhavn.
Kerri A. Pierce has published translations from seven different languages in a variety of genres—fiction and nonfiction, novel and short story. Her translation of The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am by Kjersti A. Skomsvold was a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
212 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Iben Mondrup
24 books58 followersIben Mondrup er opvokset i Grønland. Hun debuterede som romanforfatter i 2009, med romanen "Ved slusen". I 2012 udgav hun romanen "En to tre - Justine", der blev fulgt af den selvstændige efterfølger, "Store Malene", året efter.
Iben Mondrup fik i 2014 sit folkelige gennembrud med romanen "Godhavn", der også indbragte hende DR Romanprisen 2015. "Karensminde" modtog hun Blixen-prisen 2017 for. I 2020 udkom "Tabita".
Iben Mondrup fik i 2014 sit folkelige gennembrud med romanen "Godhavn", der også indbragte hende DR Romanprisen 2015. "Karensminde" modtog hun Blixen-prisen 2017 for. I 2020 udkom "Tabita".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 21, 2016
maybe i'm a philistine but modern art is bad and i'm docking an extra star for all the urination.
February 9, 2017
Another excellent publication from the wonderful Open Letter (who have a great-value subscription service, if you are so inclined).
Excerpt from the start here: http://www.openletterbooks.org/pages/...
Exists somewhere in the realm of Kathy Acker and Anna Kavan. It is difficult to pull this sort of text off without being irritating - Mondrup is largely successful in keeping clear of this issue (though I suspect some readers may disagree).
Well worth your time.
Excerpt from the start here: http://www.openletterbooks.org/pages/...
Exists somewhere in the realm of Kathy Acker and Anna Kavan. It is difficult to pull this sort of text off without being irritating - Mondrup is largely successful in keeping clear of this issue (though I suspect some readers may disagree).
Well worth your time.
May 13, 2017
A fascinating take on madness, creation, disintegration, family, alienation, art, pseudo-art, sex, grief, drunkenness, and loss. The novel is written in a way that's intentionally herky-jerky (all the better to demonstrate the title character's state of mind). Some readers may find it downright confusing. But if you're adventurous enough to just go for the ride, rewards await. Reminds me a lot of Caitlin R. Kiernan's THE DROWNING GIRL, only this book has a transgressive fiction feel to it instead of a weird fiction feel to it. One drawback: several typos. But in the end, I was able to overlook them because JUSTINE is a savage treat. Thoughtful and disturbing, a lyrical cacophony. Translated from the original Danish. Four stars out of five.
December 9, 2016
I'm interested by the structure of the line delivery, the way it seems the narrator dwells in the immediate moment level of consciousness without reflecting too deeply or looking too far forward. Almost stuck in the immediate experience. I could be completely off base, but it seemed that way to me. The rest was enigmatic and intriguing and all that, but that narrative level interested me most.
November 26, 2025
Jeg læste Hvordan kan vi… og brød mig ikke meget om den. Det er en bog, hvis nødvendighed mest er at få ret i et helt livs diskussioner, og som brutalt smider navngivne personer under bussen… både kendte og ukendte.
Den har også en energi og en lethed i prosaen, som jeg godt kunne lide.
En to tre - Justine er anderledes og meget bedre! Den har et raseri og en nødvendighed og en nyskabende sproglighed. Historien snubler over sig selv af bare energi… det er alkohol, kunst, kvindelighed, mere alkohol, begær, bildungsroman, arv, angst, identitet og fik jeg sagt alkohol?
Minder mig lidt om Loaded af Christos Tsiolkas… de deler en energi, der sprænger det hele…
Den har også en energi og en lethed i prosaen, som jeg godt kunne lide.
En to tre - Justine er anderledes og meget bedre! Den har et raseri og en nødvendighed og en nyskabende sproglighed. Historien snubler over sig selv af bare energi… det er alkohol, kunst, kvindelighed, mere alkohol, begær, bildungsroman, arv, angst, identitet og fik jeg sagt alkohol?
Minder mig lidt om Loaded af Christos Tsiolkas… de deler en energi, der sprænger det hele…
November 23, 2013
En sanselig, abstrakt og spændende roman. Set igennem en kunstners twistede sind oplever mand væmmelige, humoristiske og fine ting. Bogen var til tider så fri og åben i sit sprog, at jeg måtte gætte mig til hvad der skete i et givent øjeblik. Dette er en kæmpe force, jeg boltrede mg igennem justines håbløse situation. Hun var en super interessant hovedperson og jeg elskede den filtrede opbygning. Thumbs up!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews