The Starveling by Cecil Bødker
Translated from Danish by Michael Goldman
Published by Spuyten Duyvil Press
ISBN 978-1-952419-18-8 Pbk
169 pages
Published in English as part of the Danish Arts Foundation Modernist Classic Series
The Starveling raises questions about what a family consists of and the meaning of motherhood. Tinka demands to be accepted by her family exactly as she is, the starveling, including her story of inequality, poverty and hunger.
Cecil Bødker’s novel, The Starveling, published in 1990, conveys a modern view of children as independent beings, while it draws from times gone by of rural life, shepherd boys, and small farmers. This story unmasks power, class, and preconceptions about motherhood. To speak of The Starveling as a modern literary classic is no exaggeration.
– Kamila Löfström, Literary critic
