Great success with critics in Denmark

Hallucinant firecracker, pure icelandic madness, amusing read, well done, incredibly funny …

These are but a few examples from the numerous good reviews since Fathers Big Secret was released in Denmark on 28th may this spring.

Politiken, Denmark's by far most important cultural newspaper brought a review by Steffen Larsen, a well known critic.
Steffen called the book a hallucinant firecracker and acknowledged  the author had roots in Roald Dahl and Ole Lund Kirkegaard before he went on to say that " Thorarinn Leifsson has written — and illustrated— a wild and wise book about  children's conditions … Thorarinn has illustrated the book himself with a violent energy.
Pictures and text play together effectively. Steffen ends the review by anouncing the authors next book, inspired by the Icelandic bank crisis.

The Danish National Radios  "Troldspejlet" website prompts the reader in their headline wether he or she is more inclined to " man beef or ass cheeks in bernais sauce". 
Then goes on to descripe the book as an "incredibly funny and grotesque story about an ordinary family with a most unusual head of family … can be described as a modern version of the fantastic realism we know from Ole Lund Kirkegaards book about Rubber Tarzan."
 
The reader of the Danish Library Center (DBC) recommends the book:
"Read this ravingly crazy story or give it to readers of both sexes from the age of 11 … Funny, grotesque and touching illustrations with an expression entirely of their own … The book is easy to read and very entertaining in all its horror … If one likes books such as The Giggler Treatment by  Roddy Doyle then one should not be disappointed by this one … well written and funny with a serious undertone."

Jan Vandall at the book review website Bogvægten.dk describes the book as "full breed Icelandic madness" and thinks it is " humorously illustrated
and brilliantly puts focus on a string of children's problems without stumbling over moralist pointing fingers. Well done".

Janus Andersen writes at the children books website Fortællingen.dk :
"Leifsson allows himself to wrap a good deal of serious themes in to wild entertainment without being to serious. He does not preach or become boring (…).
All in all, Fathers big secret is a good read with a lot of inspiration for afterthought. Its the icelandic writers first publication in danish and hopefully not his last."

On the readers website Bogguide.dk bookseller Lena Winter writes:
"Fathers Big Secret is a book you swallow in one go. One laughs, cringes and is dismayed by the funny characters and crazy story-line. Fathers Big Secret is in its own genre.
A kind of social-realistic children's crime fiction with adventurous illustrations.

Father’s Big Secret is a unusual crime thriller for kids aged 9-14. The story evolves around a horrible family secret: the cannibalism of the father of the family.
Beside Denmark and original Iceland, Fathers Big Secret has also been published in Germany were Irmtraud Gutschke of Sozialistische Tageszeitung said that "A book like this has never been written before". It has since been taken to stage by Theatrium, a children's theater in Leipzig.

The Author is now working on his next book due this autumn and a films script based on Fathers Big Secret.

Troldspejlet: http://www.dr.dk/DR1/Troldspejlet/Boeger/2009/0619102632.htm

Politiken: http://politiken.dk/boger/skonlitteratur_boger/article729771.ece

Bogvægten.dk: http://www.bogvaegten.dk/1-541-fars-store-hemmelighed.html

Fortællingen.dk: http://fortaellingen.dk/anmeldelse/thorarinn-leifsson-fars-store-hemmeli...

Bogguide.dk: http://www.bogguide.dk/meninger.asp?ID=36277