“Breath-takingly hilarious about a down-and-out culture man … The protagonist of Nina Lykke’s new novel is a thoroughly embittered writer. It is a simultaneously caustic and humorous exploration of a cultural figure in decline, who, amidst it all, also becomes deeply moving in his wretchedness”
Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden
“Jackpot for Nina Lykke’s new novel … The title […] stands in stark contrast to its content, which is shamelessly amusing. Imagine a female equivalent to the French author Michel Houellebecq (known for pushing boundaries when it comes to sexuality and religion) embodied here in a middle-aged male writer named Knut. Once a star on the cultural scene, he is now increasingly overlooked by new, young authors … Nina Lykke boldly takes things to the extreme on all fronts … a hell of a read!”
Femina, Sweden
“Lykke takes a big step forward as an author … In addition to being smart and funny, Lykke creates a grating and fruitful uncertainty around her main character … It’s perhaps even more enjoyable to read about when you personally know this world. However, I believe it works well even for the uninitiated. We are not here to have fun is an intelligently rigged funhouse mirror of the cultural world, with a shard of seriousness that both challenges and perplexes its readers. And it’s a portrait of a man who is either a scoundrel, a wretch, a truth-teller, or – more likely, all of them at once.”
Vi, Sweden
“I for one am having a lot of fun thanks too Nina Lykke, who does a fantastic job when she enters the mind of a disgraced literary alpha male … What makes Lykke’s book so clever is that you can interpret it either as a satirical social critique– in which case Knut is right in his views – or it’s Knut himself who is the joke.”
Karenina.se
“You twist like a pennant in the wind out of sheer second-hand embarrassment. On everyone’s behalf … It’s all quite entertaining.”
Sveriges Radio, Sweden
“Nina Lykke delivers a knockout blow to autofiction in a hell of a novel about the often scorned white male culture personality. When Nina Lykke swings her literary whip, it’s worth paying attention … the country’s perhaps sharpest and funniest chronicler of our times. … dark, funny and very, very cringeworthy. We might not be here to have fun, but the mood is greatly enhanced when we read Nina Lykke’s bold explosion of fury from the mouth of that “old bastard” Knut.”
Gabriel Michael Vosgraff Moro, VG
6/6 stars
“A successful writer with a piercing pen … In earlier books, Nina Lykke has exposed teachers and doctors. Now she turns to self-irony on behalf of authors … For those of us who love social satire – from Tom Wolfe to Torgrim Eggen – Nina Lykke is a rare find. Her ability to disarm, to create pockets of sympathy for the most messed-up troublemakers, gives her satire a dimension that goes beyond the acerbic”
Inger Bentzrud, Dagbladet
5/6 stars
“Lykke gives the reader a hardcore peek into what happens during intoxication and pick-ups, into who is the victim and who is the guilty one in what starts out as a flirt. The portrait of Knut is complex. There’s a wonderful energy in this elevated soap opera that balances elegantly between humour and irony. The build-up is suspenseful, rising stylishly towards the big bang … The final 50 pages smell of gun-powder. Readers, look forward to this. Lykke goes at full speed, unguarded and without filter.”
Stein Roll, Adresseavisen
5/6 stars
“Lykke confirms her status as a master when it comes to exposing the vanity of the upper middle class … In a clever way, Lykke shows how new ideas have spread as an epidemic in the world of culture: Art is supposed to be provocative, society is supposed to be tolerant – but in such a way that nobody will take offense along the way”
Regine Stokstad, Dagens Næringsliv
“An epic for outsiders. Is there such a thing as a sympathetic male culture personality? Nina Lykke shows us a rare, memorable specimen … Future historians that might wonder what our time felt like, will find a rich source in this novel … Lykke creates nuances by using caricatures … She is a trapeze artist who balances on a tightrope – without safety net. She is the court jester who tells it like it is. The child that points out the obvious. That makes her a gift to anybody who feels a bit on the outside of the conform.”
Knut Hoem, NRK Bok
“A white, frustrated man goes bananas … We’re Not Here to Have Fun can be read as an attack on a literary trend Lykke herself has steered clear of in her more darkly humorous novels. It can be read as a critique of writers cannibalizing on each other. But Nina Lykke plumbs more deeply – and gets a richer pen – when she shakes off the spirit of the times and seeks a solution that writers in earlier age would call katharsis. In an exquisite finale she lifts the novel to a level where the satire is accompanied by quiet wisdom”
Ingunn Økland, Aftenposten
“Lykke succeeds again … With humour and a sharp observational skills Nina Lykke again sheds light on the negative effects of the affluent society. But this time it’s the self-satisfied cultural elite who are hung out to dry … The writing is saturated with her familiar humorous perspective, and I catch myself laughing out loud several times”
Mette Solberg Fjeldheim, Bok365
“Nina Lykke is perceptive, ironic, sarcastic and precise. She points out contradictions of our woke times … it’s a pageturner, a book that catches your attention and keeps it”
Ove Mellingen, Telemarksavisa
“With We’re Not Here to Have Fun, Nina Lykke has definitely written her best book. This is social satire of the highest order”
Jan-Erik Østlie, Fri Fagbevegelse
