“It takes a special writer and a unique talent for observation to lift all of this up to become literature, i.e. literature worth reading. And Christiansen has the skills to do that, not least because of his silky strong prose … the absence of any large external drama makes it – even though it at first glance seems the opposite – into a radical novel. In its own quiet way”
5/6 stars, Berlingske Tidende, Denmark

“In Rune Christiansen’s story, everday life is transformed into an infatuating, existential universe … contains great warmth and tenderness”
Litteratursiden.dk, Denmark

“Rune Christiansen’s second novel in Danish is excellent, cutting straight to the chase, but still remains mysterious … This fine writer and poet has an experienced grip on language’s ability to create uncertainty … The book makes surprising connections between popular culture, old Japanese movies and canonical music and literature, it contains diffuse, cool ambience and loose footnotes. Well worth reading!”
Jyllands-Posten, Denmark

“Demonstrates successfully how much can be conveyed without boisterous prose … Christiansen portions his literary devices so delicately that both the attraction and the vulnerability become convincing”
Weekendavisen

“Rune Christiansen writes unusually beautifully about our relationshop to the world around us, and about the significance of art in our existence … His poetic, subtly melancholic prose, is loaded with rare beauty and provides depth to what seems insignificant. It’s great literature … An intelligent, beautiful book”
5/6 stars, Fyns Stiftstidende, Denmark

“On a scale of one to six, Rune Christiansen would have received a six. Or, why not, a seven. The prose is like velvet … Christiansen is an exclusive writer. But he isn’t inaccessible. On the contrary, the book is a surprisingly easy read, which almost puts the reader in a trance. It feels completely essential”
Dagbladet

“Insightful observations and interesting character portraits, mediated through the author’s characteristically rich, poetic writing … To this reviewer, his latest novel is more open and accessible than much of anything else he has written, and readers are warmly encouraged to start here.
6/6 stars, Drammens tidende

“Rune Christiansen has created a fascinating portrait of a seemingly passionless female character … There is something alluring about Christiansen’s elegant, elegiac prose”
Morgenbladet

“There is both poetry and essayistic passages in Rune Christiansen’s new novel Chrysantemum, a book capable of making the reader dizzy … It’s the way Christiansen tells his story that makes it so spectacular … I experience an almost magical dislocation of my consciousness from the concrete words of the text to my own reality – forcing me to immerse myself in memories I haven’t revisited for many years. … It’s impossible to talk about this novel without praising Rune Christiansen’s subtle, elegant prose”
NRK P2

“A stylist without equal. Rune Christiansen writes so beautiful about life and literature, that you hardly notice what this is really about. Still, the novel feels important … Christiansen has this ability to produce images that are both surprising and spot on, sudden flashes of insight, the almost physical descriptions of nature, interiors and people. Christiansen weaves in thoughts on religion and literature, writes about books and authors, and he does so in his very own insisting, reflective way. He makes everyday life’s tedious repetition stand out in a new sharp, light”
Dagsavisen

“This year’s most beautiful book. Rune Christiansen offers one novel more gorgeous than the other”
Hamar Arbeiderblad