Thomas Espedal writes piercingly frankly and artlessly about himself and his life: he is trying to organize a household in an old dilapidated house on the island - the woman with whom he broke up a long time ago died, and he came here to raise their common daughter. A writer, he processes grief into words, and does it in a Proustian manner, masterfully pulling stories one after another like a silk thread from a cocoon. And so gradually we learn a lot about his life: how he wrote his first book, because he firmly decided to become a writer; that he buried his mother, the heiress of a noble Bergen family, in front of whom he always felt embarrassed because he and his father were not good enough for her, and his other grandmother could not forget until her death that she was kicked out of the house by her stepmother; how he is afraid of the neighbor's dogs and that he loves walks. The stories cling to one another, the novel is populated by people, but its tone does not change - these are very light, ironic, brilliantly written observations and reflections of a person about life, where the old traditions of confessional prose are clearly influenced by the modern openness and ease of Internet diaries. Espedal's books are considered the canon of the "new diary prose" genre. They have been translated into all the major languages of the world and are collecting awards and rave reviews from readers in all countries.

Let's start with the fact that the book “Despite Art” is written indecently well. Everything seems modest, but here and there the words shine like drops of dew on a spider’s web. There doesn't seem to be a single page where you don't appreciate a great wording or an apt observation that sticks in your memory. The book is unapologetically poetic. You want to have her at home, to have her. Politiken

A special, springy lyrical style of writing, conveying all the intricacies and emotional infinity of happy events and moments, but truly irreplaceable when describing losses and grief that certainly accompanies them. Espedal's text foams and sparkles, shimmering with associations.Aftenposten

In the novel “Contrary to Art,” Thomas Espedal poetically and soulfully describes how he bears his human cross, loves and loses... and gains wisdom.Nordjyske Stiftstidende