Peter Høeg, born in 1957 in Denmark, pursued various interests-dancer, actor, sailor, fencer, and mountaineer-before turning seriously to writing. His work has been published in 33 countries. The Quiet Girl is his fifth novel. Høeg writes prose that is both changeable and as deep-fathomed as poetry...[It] demands to be read aloud and savored.-The New Yorker on Smilla's Sense of Snow