Shortlisted for the Vesaas Debut Prize
Anna and Ida are doing a road trip through Europe, going from one motel to another. As a child, Anna travelled those same motorways, tenting with her parents. In On the Motorways, these two trips are crosscut into one restless roadtrip in past and present.
The novel is the story of the fragile, hesitant love affair between Anna and Ida. It’s about power and limitless borders, friendship and desire, and about hurting those close to you.
On the Motorways is a novel with high pulse and high tempo, written in rhythmic, driving prose.
“One thing that makes this novel stand out is its direct storytelling, which gives an unsentimental portrait of its main character. The prose is concrete and revolves around details in the motel rooms as well as descriptions of the physical contact between the two women. At the same time the tempo is high, racing forward at full speed, mirroring the monotony of the highway and of driving. This is a confident carefully composed novel, which subtly lets the reader understand that there are nuances in Anna’s past that may explain her transgressive behavior in the present”
From the Vesaas Debut Prize Jury statement (shortlisted)
