New Swedish Books, spring 2017 1
77 Spring 2017 Berit Viklund (b. 1984) Rabbit Hol
e Publisher/rights Syster förlag info@systerforlag.se www.systerforlag.se Rabbit Hole is Berit Viklund’s first book. She studied at the Comic Art School in Malmö and is one of the founders of the feminist comics collective ‘Dotterbolaget’. Rabbit Hole In her impressive debut Berit Viklund gives us the story of a passionate love affair that turns ugly. The narrator has finally found someone who gives her validation and love and all the rest that she’s dreamt of. The intensity and the, to begin with, happy isolating togetherness, is so complete that when her boyfriend’s behaviour starts veering into becoming controlling and with increasingly strange demands, she, crazy in love, is prepared with an entire arsenal of excuses. When the limit of what’s acceptable behaviour slowly starts to erode and the perfect life is filled with violence she still clings on to the belief that things will get better. The feeling of claustrophobia that’s portrayed is put into sharp contrast with the freely flowing, light and expressive drawings and its colour palette of black, white and pink. It’s a book about love, its opposite and how it’s possible to find the strength to liberate yourself from something that’s destructive. Photo: Johanna Arnström