In Dorthe Nors’s Range, astrophysics professor Gunn Haven moves to the Danish countryside. She is working on an introduction to astrophysics, but soon finds herself drawn into a dispute with a neighbour and begins helping a teenager with a school project. The novel appeared in English in Caroline Waight’s translation in 2026.
Range reached English-language readers in two distinct 2026 editions: Graywolf Press published the US paperback on 18 August, and Pushkin Press published the UK hardback on 10 September. Caroline Waight translated both from Spænd, originally published by the Danish house Gutkind on 17 January 2025.
Gunn Haven’s work and move
The UK publisher’s description introduces Gunn’s work on the early universe and her decision to move to the countryside. She plans to write a book for a general audience. Soon after arriving she crosses a property boundary and is confronted by Krista, an encounter described in Caleb Klaces’s Guardian review.
Klaces reads the novel as a story about a woman whose fascination with the distant universe coexists with difficulty understanding the people close to her. He also argues that Gunn’s imprecision in explaining some physical phenomena is hard to square with her professional standing.
The property dispute
Gunn walks down a private track to see a farmhouse with damaged walls. Krista films her and Gunn leaves. Klaces traces how their dispute develops and argues that its eventual confrontation reinforces Gunn’s preconceptions about rural life.
For another starting point in Danish fiction in translation, see Litteraturnet’s guide to Danish short fiction.
Gunn and Jenny
Gunn helps Jenny, the teenage daughter of her hairdresser, with a school assignment on black holes. She also pays for a former student to travel to America.
In his review of Range, Klaces singles out the awkward, affectionate scenes between Gunn and Jenny as the strongest part of the book. He also connects Gunn’s role as a mentor with her interest in Lady Russell, a maternal figure in Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
Read also our guide to Helle Helle’s Hafni Says, another recent English translation of a Danish novel.
What Caleb Klaces praises and questions
Writing in The Guardian on 28 September 2026, Klaces praises the scenes with Jenny and finds the plot surrounding them predictable. He also questions whether some of Gunn’s scientific observations are credible. A Financial Times feature pairs Nors with Helle Helle in its coverage of Danish fiction in translation.
For a reading group, choose a scene with Jenny and a scene in which Gunn discusses her work. What information about Gunn comes from her words, and what comes from what she does? Compare the passages before reading the full review.
Caroline Waight translated Range from the Danish Spænd. The US and UK editions use the same English title.
Three English-language starting points
1. Range. The UK Pushkin Press hardback (10 September 2026, ISBN 9781805680185) and US Graywolf paperback (18 August 2026, ISBN 9781644454046) both credit Caroline Waight as translator.
2. Mirror, Shoulder, Signal. Sonja starts driving lessons in this novel, which was shortlisted for the 2017 International Booker Prize. The UK Pushkin Press paperback (2018, ISBN 9781782273141) was translated by Misha Hoekstra.
3. A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast. Nors’s nonfiction essays follow the North Sea coast. The UK Pushkin Press paperback (2023, ISBN 9781782277972) was translated by Caroline Waight.
Sources and further reading
Gutkind, Spænd (Danish edition, 17 January 2025); Pushkin Press, Range (UK edition, 10 September 2026); Graywolf/Macmillan, Range (US edition, 18 August 2026); Caleb Klaces, The Guardian (28 September 2026); Financial Times: new fiction from Nors and Helle Helle (autumn 2026); Pushkin Press, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal; Pushkin Press, A Line in the World.
Criticism and further reading
Caleb Klaces, Range by Dorthe Nors review – an astrophysicist at odds with reality, The Guardian, 28 September 2026 (English).
Photo: Foto.Anna.Höök / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0; resized for web display.
