Helle Helle is a pseudonym for the Danish author Helle Olsen. The writer belongs to the Peru of many novels and short stories. Her work has received recognition from both readers around the world and critics.
Biography
Helle Olsen was born on December 14, 1965 in a small town in the south of Denmark - Nakskove, on the west coast of Lolland Island. From 1985 to 1987, Helle studied at the University of Copenhagen, which is one of the oldest institutions of higher education. It was founded in 1479 by King Christian I. Then the future writer studied at the Literary School in Copenhagen from 1989 to 1991. From 1990 to 1995 she worked for Danish Radio.
Creation
Helle Helle's first book, An Example for Life, was published in 1993. This is a collection of short stories about the life of ordinary people. But the author does not just reveal the life of the characters to someone else's gaze, but as if he is describing the history of mental illness. The style of the novels is surreal, full of mysteries and hidden meaning. Helle Helle's presentation is minimalist and rather primitive, but it has capacious descriptions and Danish humor.
The next collection of short stories was released in 1996 under the title "Remains". It included stories such as:
- "Pheasants";
- "Two kilometers";
- "At some moment in spring";
- "Stool for a while";
- “It could be grass”;
- Road maps.
Helle Helle again masterfully creates in her stories a special space that surrounds the reader and makes them read every word, look for special meaning in laconic phrases. Also in the collection you can find stories "Remains", "Films", "Mobile", "Sunday 15:10", "Cheerful young couple" and "Nothing new".
The novel "Home and Motherland" was published in 1999. According to its plot, the main character Anna returns from Copenhagen to her native provincial town, where she spent her childhood. She buys a house and is waiting for her boyfriend to arrive. Critics have praised this realistic novel, which depicts every day of anticipation and adaptation of the character.
In 2000, from the pen of Helle Helle, a new collection of short stories "Cars and Animals" was published. His stories open:
- “More coffee?”;
- "Collection";
- "Own system".
The book also includes the works "The Leak", "My Aunt Died", "There are no more mustard fields in Denmark", "Silting", "Loaders", "Hedebelge", "Talking about the Settlement", "A Little Journey", "Tuesday Night”,“My Job”,“Friendly Stranger”and“I'm Going Ahead”. These impulsive stories can interest the reader in someone else's fate and even embarrass a little.
In 2002, the next novel by the Danish writer was published - The Idea of a Carefree Life with One Man. According to its plot, a couple - Suzanne and Kim - let their pregnant girlfriend, who broke up with her boyfriend, into their little apartment. After that, their lives are turned upside down. The book is easy to read, and the plot is quite deep. Helle's novel Helle combines a captivating storytelling with the drama of life and death. "The idea of a carefree life with one man" evokes a strange anxious mood, although it talks about ordinary, commonplace things and situations.
His next novel, Redby Puttgarden, was released in 2005. It is about sisters Jane and Tyne, who travel on a ferry from Danish Redby to German Puttgarden for work. A story about men who come and go from their lives, about their relationship with their mother. Once again, critics note the stunning simplicity of Helle Helle's novel, the ability to place accents in a minimalist narrative. For her unusual style, she was called "an improved female version of Hemingway."
The 2008 novel "To the devil with the dog" was again received with enthusiasm. It was called exciting, accumulating emotions, real and shameless pleasure of the reader. Three years later, the novel “This needs to be rewritten in the present tense” appears. He talks about a girl who travels to Copenhagen by train every day. Her parents think that she is studying at the university, but in fact she spends time at the station and on the streets of the city. The girl tries to write, but so far unsuccessfully. The novel is recognized as brilliant, striking, convincing. Critics used phrases such as "sloppy masterpiece" and "sheer pleasure to read."
The book "If so" was published in 2014. It takes place in the forests of Jutland. The book is called classic, intoxicating, gentle, strong and deep. The 2018 novel "They" describes the relationship between mother and daughter. The story told by Helle makes you cry and laugh, empathize with the characters, find meaning in every phrase and succumb to the changing mood of the story.
Awards
In 2003 Helle Helle won the Beatrice Prize. In 2005, Helle Helle received the Critics' Award for her novel Redby Puttgarden. The novel "To hell with the dogs" in 2009 was nominated for a literary prize of the Nordic Council. In 2009, the famous Danish writer received the Enquist Prize and in 2010 the Danish Artistic Council's Lifetime Achievement Prize. For the book "It needs to be rewritten in the present tense", Helle Helle received the "Golden Laurel".
Helle Helle and her work were reviewed in Hermansson G.'s book Between the Short and the Long: Exploring Danish Prose of the 90s, released in 2000. Also about the Danish writer in 2011, the work "How Much Do You Need: A Book About the Authorship of Helle Helle" was published.
The writer regularly arranges meetings with readers and creative evenings in Danish libraries. The novels and novels of the writer have been translated into twenty languages and published in different countries around the world.
