Description
Set in modern Europe, Azorno is a kind of logic puzzle or house of mirrors, concerning five women and two men.
One of the men is a writer named Sampel, the other is the main character of his novel, Azorno. All the women are pregnant by Sampel, but which of them is really the narrator? Has someone been killed? Is someone insane? Is the whole story part of Sampel’s book, or Inger Christensen’s?
Reminiscent of the works of Georges Perec and Alain Robbe-Grillet, Azorno illuminates the prevailing theme throughout Inger Christensen’s great body of poetry and fiction: the interplay of perception, language, and reality. As Anne Carson said, “Like Hesiod, Inger Christensen wants to give us an account of what is—of everything that is and how it is and what we are in the midst of.” Ending with the struggle between two merged characters, Azorno simultaneously satisfies and unsettles, leaving us with a view of reality unlike any other.
Reminiscent of the works of Georges Perec and Alain Robbe-Grillet, Azorno illuminates the prevailing theme throughout Inger Christensen’s great body of poetry and fiction: the interplay of perception, language, and reality. As Anne Carson said, “Like Hesiod, Inger Christensen wants to give us an account of what is—of everything that is and how it is and what we are in the midst of.” Ending with the struggle between two merged characters, Azorno simultaneously satisfies and unsettles, leaving us with a view of reality unlike any other.
Reviews
"Azorno, though not being clear in itself, clearly settled on some fascinating themes — and the obfuscation enhanced those themes (yes!)." — Trevor Berrett, The Mookse and the Gripes
"Her endlessly puzzling and dazzling novel…always lively. Part love story, mystery, and madhouse. Azorno is an exhilarating read." — Tim Nassau, Three Percent
"[Inger Christensen was] one of our greatest celebrants of living and life." — Douglas Messerli, Rain Taxi
"[A] truly unique play of twists, turns, and crisply vivid imagery…. savor it." — Christine Condon, The Literary Review
Also By: Inger Christensen 
Condition of Secrecy
Paperback, 2019
For the first time available in English, a selection of some of Inger Christensen’s most insightful essays and poetic prose pieces
Condition of Secrecy
E Book, 2018
For the first time available in English, a selection of some of Inger Christensen’s most insightful essays and poetic prose pieces