Stay If You Can. Leave If You Must

Three young boys who have been friends since childhood decide to enlist in the Norwegian armed forces in Afghanistan. None of them return. What made them go? What about the ones they left behind? What influences our choices – whether we stay or leave?

STAY IF YOU CAN. LEAVE IF YOU MUST is a mature debut with a well tuned literary voice. A novel about growing up in, being surrounded by, and breaking loose from a safe place that no longer feels safe.

Praise for STAY IF YOU CAN. LEAVE IF YOU MUST:

“A well composed and thorough story for four voices. Two of the young men, a mother and a neighbour act as spokesmen in four separate parts. The result is a complex and nuanced portrait of life in a small village, of bonds and frictions between people, and of the young men’s struggle to find their place (…) Flatland writes with a great sense of detail and nuance. It is well done and promising”
(NRK)

"a thoroughly prepared and successful literary debut (...) it is well written and explores major subjects with gentleness"
(Dagsavisen)

"[Helga Flatland] manages to write about an ordinary and secure childhood in Norway without excluding the big, wide world, and does this in an original way (...) Her prose is sober, often lyrical"
(Dagbladet)

"Helga Flatland has written a fine novel about childhood. Her debut speaks of a great literary talent, a love of writing, and an ability and desire to write throrougly."
(Fædrelandsvennen)

"Flatland has a special ear for suggestive details, which makes the novel very visual (...) this novel offers a nuanced and readable portrayal of a society in a time of change"
(Bergens Tidende)

”Here is a debutant who not only writes well. She portrays these young boys’ world in such an emotional and trustworthy way.”
( Oppland Arbeiderblad)

First published: 2010, Aschehoug
Helga Flatland: Biography and bibliography