Last Week in Denmark
Curious about what’s really happening in Denmark — and how it affects the life of internationals living here? Each week, two hosts from the LWID community talk through the top news stories and developments — in English — sharing personal insights and international perspectives. It’s a clear and accessible conversation about life in Denmark, made for people who live here but didn’t grow up here. Last Week In Denmark is a volunteer-driven media project with a simple mission: to empower people through information.
With a mix of short summaries, thoughtful discussion, and context you can actually use, we cover everything from housing and healthcare to politics. Whether you're new to Denmark or have been here for years, this is your go-to bite-sized update on what’s happening — and why it matters to you. Thank you for helping us grow.
Last Week in Denmark
International Booker Spotlight: Solvej Balle and the Power of Translated Fiction: S3E26 (replay)
Groundhog Day meets Samuel Beckett—cohosts Fionn and Kalpita celebrate this mind-bending Danish novel while we're on summer break. Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume follows Tara Selter, a woman trapped in a time loop, in a story has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Already awarded in Scandinavia and translated by Barbara Haveland, the novel is gaining global attention as part of a planned multi-volume series. Listen to the full episode to hear why this surreal, slow-burning story is making waves far beyond Denmark.
Full episode:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2tm0KkpKbujAVVV61y9o1T?si=jG3M09hHQ8GpPzWt8GrIeg
Book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208511270-on-the-calculation-of-volume
In this episode:
Cohosts:
- Fionn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionn-o-toole/
- Kalpita - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalpitabhosale/
Podcast Manager:
- Stephanie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstephfuccio/
Audio Editor:
Transcript Editor:
- Nicholas
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Steph: Welcome to the Last Week in Denmark Podcast. Each week two of our community members talk through the top Danish news, stories and developments, sharing personal insights and international perspectives. If you're an international living in Denmark or thinking of moving here, you'll want to check out many of these episodes and we've got three full seasons ready for you to explore. Hi, I'm Steph, the podcast manager for the Last Week in Denmark podcast and during our summer break we're highlighting standout moments from the most recent season while our co hosts take a break. This week we're revisiting a powerful conversation from Theon and Katie, both from Ireland, about Denmark's historic vote to expand abortion rights, including extending the legal limit to 18 weeks and granting decision making rights to 15 to 17 year olds. It's a deeply personal and reflective episode that compares Denmark's approach with the Irish context and considers the broader implications of young people and bodily autonomy. You'll find the full episode link in the show Notes. If you connect with this clip, please screenshot it and share it on social media. We're here to help internationals in Denmark stay informed and feel connected. Thank you for helping us reach more people like you.
Kalpita: A fine balance, unlike Solvej's character, the book she wrote "On the Calculation of Volume" which is nominated for the Booker Prize - Translated Fiction.
Fionn: And our third topic.
Kalpita: Yeah! The main character that she writes about called Tara Selter is in a time loop and her life is completely out of balance. Have you heard of the author? Read the book?
Fionn: I have to admit I had not actually heard of the author or the book before the announcement of the International Booker Prize shortlist. I heard a kind of soundbite sized review from the Washington Post which said if Samuel Beckett had written Groundhog Day, it might read something like On the Calculation of Volume. And that makes me really want to read it. So I think I'll have to, if my library has a copy that hasn't flown off the shelves for the next few weeks. But I wasn't familiar with the author before, of course, reading now, reading a little bit into it, I think one of the interesting things maybe if you're coming at this as an international like me, think, oh, she's just been, you know, shortlisted for this 2025 award. The book must be from 2025 - and of course it's not. So this is the International Booker Prize which basically recognises novels that are translated into English. So it can't be an English language novel originally and it's actually it's not the original novel in the original language that is nominated, it is the translated work. But of course, yeah, so it was then interesting to see, okay, this is actually a novel which has came out I think maybe in was it 2022 and was awarded and recognized more locally or at least within Scandinavia and very heavily then. And now that the translated version, translated by Barbara J. Haveland. She's a Scottish translator but living in Copenhagen. Now, it's kind of making more international ways.
Kalpita: A short brief of hers. She is from South Jutland and her work has been celebrated for many, many years and she's been - I think she's been writing since 1986, if I remember correctly. And she was awarded the Nordic Society, I think. Sorry, yeah, Nordic Council Literature Prize for this book and now she's been shortlisted, as well. The first version came out in 2022 and there's another volume, this is volume one and there's volume two which came out in 2024, I think.
Fionn: As I said, I haven't read it, but I understand it's part of a planned seven volume story, so. Sounds like you're really making a commitment once you get into it.
Kalpita: [Laughs] Yeah, I thought I read it as six volumes and I happen to read volume two. If you want to read volume one, there is a long wait time for it, of course.
Fionn: I can imagine.
Kalpita: volume two was easily available, so I just jumped on it. It's an interesting book if you like time loops and if you're into that kind of fantastical journeys of characters. It's a first person solely based on Tara and her experiences and how she is understanding this time loop and what she does in this time loop, knowing that she is in a time loop, although she does not know how she got into it unless that is covered in the first one. But in the second one she keeps reminding herself that she doesn't know how this started and how long it's going to be. And she tries draw inspiration and motivation through her day. It is this desperate urge that she has to explore time itself and I think that's where Solvej is coming from. At times it becomes a bit mundane, it becomes a bit adventurous. It becomes a travelogue in some sense as well. And this exploration of time that Solvay has done quite beautifully I think is intriguing in so many ways. It leaves you with questions and food for thought, and I suppose that's also what Booker Prize looks into do for a book. Last year I was looking into the National Book Award and I read some of the books that were nominated and shortlisted for that, and Solvej's was one book as well that I came across. I just found out that she was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, which I find very interesting. There have been other Scandinavian authors who've made it to the Booker Prize as well and I quite enjoy the progression and acceptance of Scandinavian literature. I think the authors here are a bit edgy in the sense of how we are more inspired by the slow life and the egalitarian society that we've built. And most authors that get picked up are also based on this background, so to speak. If you haven't, you should. You should try and see if the book is for you. Actually, time loops and time warps is not something for me, but I was quite interested in Solvej's take on Tara's situation.
Fionn: I have to admit, it really sounds like something for me. One of my favorite books that I read last year was recommended to me by a friend and it was called "This is How You Lose The Time War". And it's a lot less fantastical in some ways than you would think from that. It's essentially a love story. But the premise of moving back and forward in time as well as space and enemies becoming lovers. Was incredibly interesting. So I think I'm going to have to get myself a copy, get my greasy hands on a copy of On the Calculation of Volume and, yeah, dive into this. But I think it's an enormous achievement. It really, really is both for the author and the translator, and the prize recognizes that. So it's 50,000 British pounds, which is split between the two of them. And this year it was the highest number ever since the prize was launched in its current format of submissions. There was over 154 books submitted by publishers for this. So I think the fact that to be on, to be on the long list was already a huge achievement, but to be on the short list is absolutely an enormous thing for a Danish author or any author. Whether you're a dane or an international, you can be very, very proud of Solvei Balle and the experience that she's giving.
Kalpita: Yeah. I would also say that if you do read in Danish, and fancy doing that, I'm not sure if many internationals do that, but - and I say that very, very aware that I do not read in Danish, but I am reading another translated book and I can tell that a translation can be very tricky to read. If you know the original language, you can understand that the book is, how the book would have been read in the original language. So you do feel that difference when you're reading even Solvej's book of the Danishness in what the text could have been. But yeah, translated fiction is incredible and I think there are such amazing stories that come out from different parts of the world that are not necessarily in English, but also have this cultural bend to it, which I enjoy most.
Fionn: Absolutely. And I think that as internationals, that speaks very much to the spirit of, well, even what we're trying to do here.
Kalpita: Hey, this is Kalpita and Golda, co hosts of the Last Week in Denmark podcasts. Did you know Last Week in Denmark offers sponsored content in the newsletter? Our reporters are producing original articles and content tailored for internationals in Denmark.
Golda: So if you have a business our readers should know about, let us write about it. Get in touch with us at reporter@lwid.dk. You can also reach out to us on LinkedIn and Instagram @LastWeekInDenmark.
