“A moving story from the liminal zone… In a unique way the book unites a high level of reflection with a more poetic, precise writing … Christiansen offers both surprising and humorous observations, deep seriousness and astonishing comparisons and reflections … Christiansen has written one of his most inventive and best books so far”
Dagsavisen

“A wonderfully beautiful and thoughtful journey through memory, set in motion by death … I allow myself to claim already now that The Absence of Music is one of my favourites this autumn”
Dagbladet

“After more than twenty years as a writer, Christiansen has acquired a stubbornness and idiosyncracity that makes him succeed exceptionally well … I have rarely seen a literary quality as this on the fundamental level, the level of description of things, the level of words and sentences … The Absence of Music is created with the knowledge that it enters a demanding tradition, the essayistic novel. Christiansen renews it with poetic means”
Klassekampen

“Pure, strong and beautiful … A characteristic of Christiansen’s writing is that it is beautiful, sometimes shining … All in all, Rune Christiansen’s novel will most probably be seen as a rare novel, and a shining peak this autumn”
Aftenposten