Beginner's Pluck

KJERSTI studied mathematics, and became a computer engineer. Then she became ill, and moved home to recover. Lying in bed, she started to write about an old woman on post-it notes. Then she turned the notes into a novel.

“I wrote to define myself, and make myself feel like a human being. It was something to hold onto when I was ill.”

Having written the 100-plus pages, Kjersti rewrote the book time and time again. She studied writing for a year, and then rewrote the book again.

“I had to find Mathea’s voice, and find my literary language. The book took me four years.”

Who is Kjersti A Skomsvold?

Date/place of birth: December 3, 1979, Oslo.

Education: University of Oslo; the University of Science and Technology in Trondheim; The Writing Academy in Bergen; and now studying French in Caen, Normandy.

Home: Normandy, France.

Family: Parents and two younger brothers.

The Day Job: Studying French and writing — “I’m converting the novel into a play for The National Theatre — it was commissioned by an actress who wants to portray Mathea.”

Hobbies: “I like running.”

Favourite Writers: Beckett; Louis-Ferdinand Céline; Marcel Proust.

Second Novel: “It’s at the editorial stage. It’s, deliberately, a very different book. With the first I was thinking about each word 1,000 times. The second one flows more. It’s much longer. I have seen what can be done with writing and I want to experiment more.”

Top Writing Tip: “Dare to write what you want to write — and don’t try and impress people.”

Web/Twitter: Neither.

THE DEBUT

The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am. Dalkey Archive Press: €13. Kindle: €8.52

Mathea suffers from an extreme form of social anxiety. She loves words. She learns languages, but rarely speaks to people. When her husband dies, her fear of death becomes greater than her social fear. She wants people to notice her, but in spite of her efforts, she’s invisible to them.

The Verdict: A mini masterpiece. Strange, poignant, and utterly compelling.