The Scandinavian countries regularly top ranking lists for happiness, and are, along with Germany, among the most desired destinations for immigration. But the journey towards them can be arduously challenging, and even on arrival the welcome is often ambiguous. Comparing three novels each from the literatures of Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden, this book follows the migratory journey chronologically to explore its impact on the characters' lives, bodies and self-understanding.

Through these individually felt experiences, Anja Tr ger sheds light on the social and political structures causing conflict and struggle for immigrants. Drawing parallels across national borders, she contends that fiction can constitute a counter-discourse to the marginalisation and othering of refugees and asylum seekers: it can reimagine the lives and voices of those who are usually unheard and unseen.

Anja Tr ger is Teaching Fellow in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh.