Revisiting “Monsterhuman” by Kjersti Skomsvold

As part of Women in Translation Month—and to shine a spotlight on some of our best Two Month Review seasons—I thought I would repost information about a few relevant TMR seasons that might be of interest. First up is Monsterhuman by Kjersti Skomsvold, translated from the Norwegian by B. L. Crook. Here’s the jacket copy:

When Kjersti A. Skomsvold was seventeen years old and about to start engineering studies at college, she found herself almost unable to move. “Laid out like a relic” in a nursing home, she listens to an old woman dying, watches her boyfriend drift away, and makes compendious lists of her worries (that she will have to go speed-dating in a wheelchair, that she will be afraid and in pain for the rest of her life). She also begins to compose a novel on Post-it notes that she sticks on the wall above her bed.

Monsterhuman is an autofictional tour de force–a funny, sad, astoundingly energetic novel about suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, the power of writing, and twenty-first-century literary life.

And here are links to each episode along with info on which pages were covered.

Episode 1: Pages 1-45 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 2: Pages 46-92 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 3: Pages 93-143 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 4: Pages 144-180 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 5: Pages 180-225 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 6: Pages 226-274 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 7: Pages 275-316 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 8: Pages 316-360 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 9: Pages 360-406 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Episode 10: Pages 407-448 (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

Enjoy!

And while you’re here, you should get a copy of Mulligan Stew by Gilbert Sorrentino and be ready for Season Twenty of TMR starting on September 6th!