Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2025

Tirpitz was Germany’s largest battleship with a crew of over 2,300 men. The ship was in Norway for a large part of the Second World War. On November 12, 1944, Tirpitz was bombed and sank near Håkøya outside Tromsø, and 916 men died. These are stories of the ship’s crew and officers before, during and after the war. During the war Tiripitz was mostly docked, making the ship an easy target. We encounter the voices of those on board and the inside drama which played out. What happens to young boys and men when their expectations of war and life are put on hold or crushed?

This novel is a kaleidoscope: the voices of the men on the ship are blended together with the voices of their loved ones and families in Germany and the voices of the Norwegians who can see the ship from the shore. Combined they become a chorus bearing witness to the high price of war. Here there are no heroes, no enemies – just people. This is a poetic anti-war document.

“In this stunning novel, acclaimed Norwegian poet Ingrid Storholmen resurrects the lives, trials and dreams of the men on board the largest ship during the World War II called Tirpitz-and that of their wives, lovers, family and the local Norwegians who encountered the ship-with profound immediacy and grace. Through monologues, conversations and letters Storholmen traces the personal journeys of those caught in the war. Here Lay Tirpitz is an immersive chorus of voices waiting for life to begin, or death. It shows us the beauty, vulnerability-and ugliness-of men and women, in a world overrun by hatred and power.”
Dublin Literary Award nomination statement