By Dorthe Nors. A spiritual awakening helps a man who fears he has lost control over events in his life. Things can only go well when The Universe is on your side.

Dorthe Nors' insight into the strange nuances of human interactions, especially those rooted in violence or sorrow, is keenly observed in her short story collection, Karate Chop. She is able both to build and to unmake a character, achieving the same complexity that other writers require entire novels to establish. What's more, her protagonists are familiar and unsettling, with characteristics that echo in our psyches and ask us to call into question all we assume about ourselves and others.

Karate Chop is the first of Nors' books to be translated to English.

Written by Dorthe Nors
Translated from Danish by Martin Aitken
Read by Aoife McMahon
Abridged by Jill Waters
Produced by Lizzie Davies

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4. Show less