New Swedish Books, spring 2017 1
5 Spring 2017 Malin Nord (b. 1973) Bare Earth Pub
lisher Albert Bonniers förlag info@abforlag.bonnier.se www.albertbonniersforlag.se Rights Albert Bonniers Förlag helena.ljungstrom@albertbonniers.se Studied creative writing in Gothenburg and works as a journalist. Works Stilla havet (Albert Bonniers förlag 2012) Novel Bare Earth Coming back and stripping back history so its foundations, its bare earth, can be seen. In Malin Nord’s second book, a farm near Östersund in Northern Sweden becomes a central character. The story begins at the start of 1940, during the German occupation of Norway. Those who chose resistance lived dangerous lives, and many fled to Sweden. Heavily pregnant, Signe has made her way from Trondheim to Östersund. She gives birth and ends up staying, making a life for herself as a widower’s housekeeper. Alternate chapters are devoted to Signe and to her grandchild Anja, also single mother to one daughter. Between them, there is a quieter observer, Anja’s mother. The women’s stories encapsulate a moment of history. Malin Nord describes the major movements, but on a more individual level she also depicts the way love, isolation, attempts to get on, and to remember and forget, are all reflected in the three characters. Photo: Moa Karlberg