“[A] stunning novel … The beauty of Hovring’s novel lies mostly in its narrator … Ella becomes an Everyperson of sorts, in whom readers will find not only a heroine, but also a confidante. The book transports readers to a quaint, bucolic setting where Ella isn’t the only one who blossoms and finds clarity—readers do, too.”
Nicola Yurcaba, Sage Publications, US

“A luminous tale of the “burdensome tenderness” between sisters and the emotional tumult of breaking free, Høvring’s novel transports you to the faded grandeur of a hotel high up in a Norwegian mountain village. Høvring’s prose, in Rankin and Dickson’s translation, is sensual and searching and allusive; it shimmers with a strange winter light. I fell immediately under its spell.”
Aimee Wall, author of We, Jane

“Strikes an uncanny note of shimmering lyricism and abrupt philosophical insight … This is a book with gorgeous prose and a unique take on how we come to know ourselves. … the spectral beauty of Clarice Lispector’s prose meets Tove Ditlevsen’s propulsive search for meaning and eloquent self-examination.”
Allitup.ca, Canada

“As a solid lover of challenging and experimental fiction, Because Venus was exactly for me, and it’s been a while since I enjoyed such a tightly written, magical, and thought-provoking novel.”
Alison Manley, The Miramichi Reader, Canada

“Høvring could easily become an author with a small but fanatical group of fans, who after getting acquainted do not want to miss a single letter of her work. Høvring has written a sympathetic, fascinating work.”
Roos van Rijswijk, NRC, Netherlands

“This Norwegian tale about two sisters is immensely captivating. Intriguing reading, from start to finish.”
Lotte Jensen, De Volkskrant, Netherlands

“Her poetic writing […] is almost more beautiful than ever before … Read Mona Høvring and savour every word, for each sentence is like a kiss you didn’t know you were longing for.”
Book of the Month, 5/6 stars
Elle, Denmark

“Mona Høvring has an irrestistible attraction … A small novel with great power … From beginning to end Høvring astonishes with a prose that is as simple as it is powerful … Most of this autumn is still ahead of us, but I would still put my money on Because Venus … ending up as one of this year’s best books. Personally I rate it higher even than Camilla’s Long Nights, the fragmentary novel that brought Høvring a nomination for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.”
Aftenposten

“In Ella’s story memories and curious anecdotes keep popping up. A fairy tale is acted out inside the garden of realism, but the atmosphere is constantly threatening to burst into something absurd and peculiar. Which it does, but not the way you expect. I start thinking about the films of Wes Anderson and Bent Hamer … appetite, colours and shapes are constantly at the forefront of this story’s visual universe … references that point to crime and hit ballads as often as to canonical literary works. Seduction is both the engine and the glazing in a novel that impresses both with its clear balance and its gripping mysteries”
Klassekampen

“Høvring’s new novel has both a wise and obstinate timbre … Høvring […] is as always – no matter which genre – Høvring the Poet: charming, searching, vulnerable, alert”
5/6 stars, Stavanger Aftenblad

“It’s mysterious, dark and courageous … Høvring’s prose is striking … Her sentences can be quoted independently of the story’s development. Without ever coming across as didactic and patronizing, the become shooting stars of insight … I open my door to Mona Høvring’s strange little book. It feels risky, but I gratefully let the words in.”
NRK

“A shining pearl of a novel … Already through its title this novel evades realism and psychology; a logical model of explanation or a carefully observed causality. Mona Høvring describes life, she doesn’t pretend to know why things become the way they are. The new novel, which is about two sisters, take place in a dreamy atmosphere of love, conflict, desire and memories of a common past … Høvring is a master of brevity … the prose shines and lives, it’s filled with associations, flashbacks and quotes … Once more Mona Høvring has written a book with a fascinatingly crooked view of the world”
5/6 stars, Dagbladet

“a heart-warming book on the grammar of fate and the necessity of imagination … inimitable prose … with her idiosyncratic conjugations and rich vocabulary, Høvring’s writing is in my eyes completely unique, and also highly treasured contemporary Norwegian literature. While I read, waves of joy wash over me: fancy that this word too exists! Fancy that Mona Høvring’s books exist! … Numerous elements in [Because Venus …] seem almost fairy-tale like”
Bokvennen litterær avis

“Her novels are better compared to the periphery of the European canon from the last century, than with Norwegian literature from the same period … and in tone of shape Høvring is more than a little reminiscent of writers like Fleur Jaeggy, the French Colette and also the latter’s Norwegian name sister [Camilla Collett] … Just like Høvring’s previous books, this novel possesses an intense visual power”
Morgenbladet