\u00bbCan love be eternalized through the decay of the body? \u00ab asks J\u00f8rgen Olsen on the back cover of his debut novel, Bl\u00e5t chok, (Blue Shock). The story revolves around the relationship between two young women wallowing in an obsessive love affair, which they give into through S\/M-games, sexual submission, drugs and fetish parties.<\/p>\n
The story takes place in a setting that is intimately well-known to J\u00f8rgen Olsen, namely a university campus. <\/p>\n
J\u00f8rgen Olsen, a professor at the Faculty of Health and Medicine Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, wanted to write the book after years of focusing on an academic career, he says. This focus came at a price. It did not allow him to focus on the softer<\/em> sides of life. <\/p>\n \u00bbAs a scientist and centre leader I have one particular identity, but I felt an urge to express other sides of myself. I thought that my career as a scientist was the most important part of my life and that there wasn\u2019t any room to focus on the emotional aspects too.\u00ab <\/p>\n \u00bbat some point I realized that love was missing from my life and that I hadn\u2019t managed to combine love and sexuality in the right manner. At this point I became interested in writing.\u00ab J\u00f8rgen Olsen explains.<\/p>\n The thought that the book might end up in a old drawer became an obstacle to J\u00f8rgen Olsen when writing the book. <\/p>\n So when the book was rejected by Gyldendal and a couple of other major publishers, J\u00f8rgen Olsen decided to publish the book himself as an e-book as there were more important things than sales and critical acclaim.<\/p>\n \u00bbIf my book makes people reflect about their lives, that\u2019s a good thing. The themes in the book are controversial, but I like the idea that it catches people off guard,\u00ab he says. <\/p>\n It is no secret who the book is intended for, he says. <\/p>\n \u00bbMyself. Always myself. I am a narcissist and I only think about myself…\u00ab<\/p>\n \u00bbBut I believe in human sensibility and in the goodness of other people. My book is an encouragement to all of us to take good care of each other and a reminder to people that it is always better to think twice before passing judgement.\u00ab<\/p>\n So how about an excerpt? The book is in Danish, but the University Post offers a translation of a passage, just so our non-Danish readers can get a feel for it. Here it is (and be forewarned):<\/p>\nRejected by publishers<\/h2>\n
Take care of each other<\/h2>\n
Excerpt of novel here:<\/h2>\n