This Nordic Prize-winning novel is a truly gripping epic that relates the lives of four generations of a unique and strange family with touching intimacy and surreal comedy.

It traces four generations of a family marked by the untimely birth of Fred, a misfit and boxer conceived during a devastating rape. Fred forges an unusual friendship with his younger half-brother, Barnum. The story unfolds as Barnum, now a screenwriter with a fondness for lies and alcohol, narrates his family’s saga. He chronicles generations of independent women and absent and flawed men whom he calls the Night Men.

Among these characters is his father, Arnold, who bequeaths to Barnum his circus name, his excessively small stature, and a con man’s belief in the power of illusion. Filled with a galaxy of finely etched characters, this novel is a tour de force and a literary masterpiece richly deserving of the accolades it has received.