--- description: Find out why "The Copenhagen Trilogy" by Tove Ditlevsen is on TIME's list of the must-read books from this year. title: 'The Copenhagen Trilogy' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf80a50f1a988cbe7/6998cd3be1ba008edc98e4bd/time-hi-res.webp?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 29, 2021 # The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Renowned Danish poet and fiction writer Tove Ditlevsen, who died by suicide in 1976, reaches a new audience with the 2021 release of her experimental memoir. Originally published between 1967 and 1971 as three books—_Childhood_, _Youth_ and _Dependency—_this year marked the first time it was sold as a single volume. The collection explores Ditlevsen’s journey from an impoverished childhood spent dreaming of autonomy and future literary accomplishments to the circumstances that constrained her even as an adult: multiple marriages, motherhood, a sexist society and addiction. Writing from the perspective of her younger self, Ditlevsen transports the reader in this poignant, evocative and, surprisingly, often amusing tone. **Buy Now:** _The Copenhagen Trilogy_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780374602390 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3kHjaLr "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120638/the-copenhagen-trilogy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120638/the-copenhagen-trilogy/"},"headline":"The Copenhagen Trilogy","datePublished":"2021-11-29T13:15:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:58:38.332Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120638/the-copenhagen-trilogy/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf80a50f1a988cbe7/6998cd3be1ba008edc98e4bd/time-hi-res.webp?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf80a50f1a988cbe7/6998cd3be1ba008edc98e4bd/time-hi-res.webp?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120638/the-copenhagen-trilogy/","name":"The Copenhagen Trilogy"}}]}] ```