New Swedish Books. Spring 2016 1
NEW SWEDISH BOOKS The Summer Game It’s summer on
the Swedish west coast in the mid 1970’s. A house by the sea, a woman and her three teenage grandchildren. Then there’s the local, Sandra, who gets drawn in to their spellbinding circle. It’s an enchantment that extends beyond the strange old house and its inhabitants to very much include Ellen Mattson’s writing. Seductive, evocative, with psychological precision and a great eye for detail, this praised author breathes new life into both landscapes and characters. Here, reality is a little more real, the colours a little brighter, and the senses fully focussed. As a portrayer of the Bohuslän countryside Mattson is outstanding. The Summer Game is about desire, loneliness and community. There’s a melancholic undertone and a fraught atmosphere that persist throughout the book. In other words, it’s brilliant. ELLEN MATTSON THE SUMMER GAME ALBERT BONNIERS FÖRLAG RIGHTS: HEDLUND LITERARY AGENCY 14 Photo: Kristin Lidell