Out now!
Are Kalvø is a Norwegian comedian and writer. He has done stand-up for twenty five years, hosted a weekly satirical show on national radio for eighteen years, had a weekly satirical column in Norways leading daily for six years, has written a stage musical about politics and love, a play about history, an opera about football, several cabarets, and twelve more or less satirical books, many of them national bestsellers. He has received awards too, among them two Norwegian comedy awards for best stage performance, and a Norwegian theatre award for his translation of the musical «The Book of Mormon».
And then, in 2018, he released «The Hiking Book from Hell», about his reluctant attempt to learn to love nature. A number one bestseller, the book has sold 150 000 copies in Norway and has been translated into twelve languages. Now it’s finally available in English.
Here’s what the publisher says about it:
A blisteringly funny memoir about the call of the wild, from one of Scandinavia's biggest comedians.
Sometime around his forties, Are Kalvo starts losing his friends ... to the mountains. Friends who used to meet him at the pub are now hiking and skiing every weekend, and when they do show up, all they talk about is feeling at one with nature (without a hint of irony). When Are realizes he's the only person who hasn't posted a selfie on a mountain, he starts to wonder: does he have it all wrong? To find out, Are buys some ridiculously expensive gear and heads into the woods. The result of his sardonic trek is at once a smart and funny take-down of outdoors culture, and a reluctant surrender to nature's undeniable pull. An adventure, a comedy, and a tragedy, The Hiking Book from Hell is destined to become a nature writing (and nature hating) classic.
And here’s what other people say:
“A smart, funny, and honest exposé of the cult of the outdoors, from the sublime to the ridiculous.”
-Foreword reviews
"It takes a uniquely talented satirist to hold a mirror to our very serious hobbies and point out that they are actually kind of ridiculous, but Kalvo is able to do so in such a way to make anyone chuckle. He's just that talented."
-Jason Hayes, humor writer
"The Hiking Book From Hell offers exactly what everyone wants in a reading experience. There's adventure. There's bad weather. There's philosophy. There's shopping. But mostly there's the lively wit of Are Kalvo."
-J. Maarten Troost, author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals
"Startlingly insightful and all-too-relatable. If you hike, buy this book. I could not stop laughing."
-Diana Helmuth, author of How to Suffer Outside
"A funny and relatable memoir about the uncanny and eventually irresistible pull of the great outdoors, even on those of us who thought we were inoculated by big-city sensibilities, irony, and impractical footwear."
-Charles Demers, comedian, and author of Property Values and Primary Obsessions
“Kalvø tells his story with such deft humor and affectionate irony, wonderfully conveyed by Lucy Moffatt’s translation, that all you can do is laugh at his misadventures—and be grateful that you’re reading The Hiking Book From Hellin the comfort of your home.”
-Bookpage.com
"Humorous and engaging, The Hiking Book from Hell will resonate with anyone who hated summer camp, whose natural habitat does not include fleece clothing, and who is a late (or reluctant) arrival to the trail or the slopes. You'll be humming The Happy Wanderer and reaching for your backpack."
-Jane Christmas, author of Open House: A Life in Thirty-two Moves and What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim
«Lively, witty, cheeky.»
L’Obs, France
«One of the funniest books in a long time»
YLE, FInland
«A very funny and quite wicked book about our need to be like everyone else»
Opulens, Sweden
«Without a doubt the funniest book ever written by Norway’s funniest man». Aftenposten, Norway