Danish author Dorthe Nors has released her fifth full-length novel, 'Range', which focuses on Gunn Haven, an eminent professor of astrophysics. The narrative begins with Professor Haven's move from an urban university to rural Denmark, a decision she tells a local newspaper is "to do with the sky."
However, the novel suggests this is not the complete truth, as Gunn's curiosity soon leads her to trespass on a nearby track, driven by personal interest rather than scientific inquiry. She encounters Krista, a woman working at a local potato flour factory, who films Gunn with her phone.
Gunn, who is meant to be working on a general introduction to astrophysics, finds herself distracted by Krista and other local phenomena. The novel, translated by Caroline Waight, features a fragmented writing style and imagery described as difficult to understand. It also highlights an incongruity between Gunn's scientific intellect and her understanding of everyday reality, such as her apparent belief that thunder is heard before lightning is seen.
The narrative also touches on Gunn's past, including her mother's death in a traffic accident, which filters through her studies of the universe's earliest light. The novel draws parallels between Gunn and Lady Russell from Jane Austen's 'Persuasion', portraying Gunn as both a mentor and mentee. The relationship between Gunn and Jenny, a teenager she helps with a school project on black holes, forms a tender aspect of the story, set against a backdrop of a predictable plot and an altercation with Krista.