THE GRADUAL DISAPPEARANCE OF JANE ASHLAND

(Pushkin £12.99) FOR most of its short length, this opaque novel from Norway had me scratching my head, only for it to deliver a knockout blow at the end. The eponymous Jane is an author who quits the U.S. to delve into her Norwegian roots after suffering an unspecified trauma that the opening pages coyly dance around without giving away.

Camping in the mountains — having hooked up with a zoologist she met on the plane — the novel cuts back to the story of her marriage to a reporter, Greg, and their 11-year-old daughter, Julie.

Some tricksy interplay between Jane’s imagination and experience keeps you on your toes, not least because the narrative switches back and forth between several time frames, some of them so subtly distinct as to amplify the confusion.

But wait for it to crystallise, and this unpredictable narrative — both quirky and bleak — dishes up a dark chronicle of grief that gets under your skin.