Jenny Hval's Novel 'Girls Against God' Blends Feminist Rebellion with Norwegian Social History

Norwegian musician and author Jenny Hval's novel 'Girls Against God' is a genre-defying work that merges feminist critique with horror and coming-of-age elements. Published by Verso, the book follows a narrator's revolt against the moral and patriarchal structures of southern Norway, exploring themes from goth subculture to witches' covens. Hval examines language, both Norwegian and English, as instruments of oppression and freedom, while also considering digital technology's dual role. The narrative is haunted by Edvard Munch's 1894–95 painting 'Puberty', which the protagonist encounters at Oslo's National Museum, initially viewing it as pornography but later interpreting it as an expression of hatred toward societal figures. Throughout the novel, Hval challenges a male-dominated artistic canon, referencing writers like Knut Hamsun, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, and David Foster Wallace, as well as historical events such as the Manhattan Project and its atomic bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man. The work questions whether the author achieves a state free from hatred, leaving this ambiguity unresolved. Set against a backdrop of Norwegian metal culture and picket-fence conformity, the story evolves from schoolyard curses to demonic banquets, blending social history with personal rebellion.