{"title":"Olga Ravn","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"olga-ravn-2-books-collection-set-the-wax-child-the-employees-fiction-mixed-format","title":"Olga Ravn 2 Books Collection Set: The Wax Child \u0026 The Employees - Fiction - Mixed Format","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitles in This Set\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Wax Child\u003cbr\u003eThe Employees\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Brand New\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Mixed Format — Hardback (The Wax Child), Paperback (The Employees)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis two-book collection brings together Danish author Olga Ravn's most acclaimed English-translated fiction: The Wax Child, a haunting tale of witchcraft and suspicion in 17th-century Denmark, and The Employees, a genre-bending report from a starship crewed by humans and humanoids. Both novels are translated by Martin Aitken and share Ravn's spare, incantatory prose style. Together they showcase a writer equally at home in historical folklore and speculative science fiction, making this set an ideal introduction to one of contemporary Scandinavian literature's most distinctive voices for readers of literary and speculative fiction alike.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Books\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOlga Ravn's fiction moves fluidly between past and future while staying rooted in questions of power, perception, and what it means to be seen as human. The Wax Child is narrated by a wax figure crafted in 1620s Denmark, whose watchful, uncanny voice records the fear, gossip, and cruelty of a community gripped by witch trials. Through this unusual narrator, Ravn examines how suspicion becomes violence and how women's autonomy was policed through ritual and rumor. The novel's compressed, lyrical structure gives it the intensity of a fable while remaining grounded in documented history. The Employees takes the opposite trajectory, projecting forward to a future aboard the Six-Thousand Ship, where human and humanoid crew members submit testimonies about their reactions to strange objects retrieved from a distant planet. Structured as a mosaic of first-person reports, the novel becomes an unsettling meditation on labor, memory, and longing for a lost Earth, blurring the boundary between organic and manufactured life. Both novels were translated into English by Martin Aitken, whose careful, rhythmic renderings preserve the spareness of Ravn's original Danish prose. Read together, the two books reveal recurring Ravn preoccupations: the fragility of identity under institutional pressure, the eerie intelligence of non-human narrators, and prose that favors accumulation of detail over conventional plot. Readers who enjoy literary fiction that experiments with form and voice will find this pairing a rewarding study in one author's range.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Benefits\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo acclaimed Olga Ravn novels in one set\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpans historical folklore and speculative sci-fi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTranslated by Martin Aitken\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand-new, ready to gift\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact, atmospheric literary fiction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStrong entry point into Scandinavian fiction in translation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook-by-Book Guide\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Wax Child — A wax figure created during a 17th-century Danish witch trial narrates a tense tale of fear, suspicion, and female resilience.\u003cbr\u003eThe Employees — Reports and testimonies from a starship crew of humans and humanoids form a haunting meditation on work, memory, and longing for Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOlga Ravn is a Danish author and poet whose fiction has been translated into numerous languages. Her novel The Employees, translated by Martin Aitken, brought her international attention and was recognized for its inventive structure and unsettling exploration of labor and identity in a future setting. Ravn's writing consistently blends precise, poetic language with bold formal experimentation, moving comfortably between historical settings and speculative futures. With The Wax Child, she continues to explore themes of power, fear, and voice, cementing her reputation as one of the most inventive contemporary Scandinavian writers working in translation today.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Collection\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis pairing makes a thoughtful gift for literary fiction fans, a strong book club pick, or a standout addition to a holiday or birthday gift list. Two distinct worlds—one haunted by 17th-century history, one adrift in deep space—offer a compact but rich introduction to Olga Ravn's singular, unsettling voice and inventive storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: This is the UK edition with the ISBN as listed; the cover may vary slightly from the image shown.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Olga Ravn","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57222327304566,"sku":"MAN-VRT-PNG-U2410-9124252328","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0575\/6587\/2211\/files\/olga-ravn-the-wax-child-the-employees-mixed-format.jpg?v=1786086916"}],"url":"https:\/\/skymartbooks.com\/collections\/olga-ravn.oembed","provider":"Skymart Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}