About the book
'A masterpiece. It pushes the fused power of memoir and story to a new dimension' Ali Smith
A heart-rending work of autofiction from one of Norway's most prominent literary writers
Paris, a winter’s night in 1983. She is sixteen years old, lost in unfamiliar streets. On a scrap of paper in her pocket is the address of a photographer, K, thirty years her senior. Almost four decades later, as her life and the world around her begins to unravel, the grown woman seeks to comprehend the young girl of before and looks for ways to disclose a long-guarded secret.
Set in Oslo, New York and Paris, Girl, 1983 is a genre-defying and bravura quest through layers of memory and oblivion – a raw and haunting exposure of beauty and forgetting, desire and shame, power and powerlessness.
‘Ullmann’s gaze on the power and pain of a teenage girl as remembered and restaged by her adult self is unflinching and startling’ Deborah Levy
LONGLISTED FOR THE WARWICK PRIZE FOR WOMEN IN TRANSLATION 2026
Editions of Girl, 1983
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780241639627
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780241999264
- EBook
- ISBN 9780241999257
Read an Excerpt
'A masterpiece. It pushes the fused power of memoir and story to a new dimension' Ali Smith
A heart-rending work of autofiction from one of Norway's most prominent literary writers
Paris, a winter’s night in 1983. She is sixteen years old, lost in unfamiliar streets. On a scrap of paper in her pocket is the address of a photographer, K, thirty years her senior. Almost four decades later, as her life and the world around her begins to unravel, the grown woman seeks to comprehend the young girl of before and looks for ways to disclose a long-guarded secret.
Set in Oslo, New York and Paris, Girl, 1983 is a genre-defying and bravura quest through layers of memory and oblivion – a raw and haunting exposure of beauty and forgetting, desire and shame, power and powerlessness.
‘Ullmann’s gaze on the power and pain of a teenage girl as remembered and restaged by her adult self is unflinching and startling’ Deborah Levy
LONGLISTED FOR THE WARWICK PRIZE FOR WOMEN IN TRANSLATION 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Girl, 1983 about?
'A masterpiece. It pushes the fused power of memoir and story to a new dimension' Ali Smith
A heart-rending work of autofiction from one of Norway's most prominent literary writers
Paris, a winter’s night in 1983. She is sixteen years old, lost in unfamiliar streets. On a scrap of paper in her pocket is the address of a photographer, K, thirty years her senior. Almost four decades later, as her life and the world around her begins to unravel, the grown woman seeks to comprehend the young girl of before and looks for ways to disclose a long-guarded secret.
Set in Oslo, New York and Paris, Girl, 1983 is a genre-defying and bravura quest through layers of memory and oblivion – a raw and haunting exposure of beauty and forgetting, desire and shame, power and powerlessness.
‘Ullmann’s gaze on the power and pain of a teenage girl as remembered and restaged by her adult self is unflinching and startling’ Deborah Levy
LONGLISTED FOR THE WARWICK PRIZE FOR WOMEN IN TRANSLATION 2026
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Girl, 1983?
Fiction > Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction
Where can I read a sample of Girl, 1983?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780241639627
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Girl, 1983?
Linn Ullmann
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Girl, 1983 is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780241639627) and paperback(ISBN 9780241999264) and ebook(ISBN 9780241999257)
Where can I buy Girl, 1983 online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Girl, 1983 from below
Where can I buy Girl, 1983?