2024
In The House of Pantaloon is a novel about the destructive power of shame and how the silence that follows in its wake can ripple through generations.
The novel is set in Oslo, over the course of a few months. We follow Eva and Cornelia in alternate chapters, as Eva is dealing with widowhood, and Cornelia with a broken relationship and single parenthood. Through chance, Eva and Cornelia’s paths keep crossing. A tender and unexpected affinity develops between the two women, who at first seem to have little in common, and who find themselves in vastly different circumstances.
The story has a plot-driven narrative, with an existential nerve, slight satirical elements, and much warmth. By the end, the reader will realize how these two women‘s lives are intertwined through secrets of the past and “the sins of the fathers”, with Henrik Ibsen‘s Ghosts as a hinted-at backdrop.
Riveting about power
'The community, the warmth and the compassion make Hilde Rød-Larsen’s novel a terrific example of a feminine writing in a traditionally male-dominated world.'
'A character-driven drama which engages and entertains. […] Rød-Larsen has a good grip on the text with dialogue that flows well.'
Hilde Rød-Larsen
Oda Berby
