The One Day You Were My Husband

Finished July 29

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh

This compelling read takes us through Carrie's situation as she is faced with revising her past. Carrie is married with six year old twins and is feeling ready to return to her career as a surgeon after stepping back when her children were born prematurely. Her mother is less present in her life; her stepmother is preparing to move her father, who suffers from advanced dementia, to a care home; her sister is now living in the U.S. and her husband is supportive of her decision. 

While planning a trip to Sweden to reconnect with her surgical mentor, and attend a conference for the short-term rental company she is part of, she comes across a rental owned by her first husband, Swedish Johan. She is taken aback. Twelve years ago, the two met through a patient brought into the hospital she was interning at and felt an instant connection. They had moved in together, and impulsively married when she visited Thailand to meet him when he was on location in Cambodia. Johan was apprehended violently by armed police on the evening of their wedding day as they were dancing on the beach. Despite her efforts, Carrie was unable to get Johan released and was actively discouraged from doing more by the threat of violence against both of them and others. It took her years to move on. She wasn't even aware he'd been released from Thailand. 

At first she isn't sure whether she should cancel her trip but, even after talking to her sister and mother, she checks that he isn't on the list of attendees at the conference and decides to go, as meeting with her mentor is important to her and will give her a better restart to her career. But she still wonders about what really happened back then, why he's been released, and why she didn't know about it. When she runs into him in person, the questions are even louder, and she decides she needs answers, even if they are difficult. 

I found this to be a real page-turner, with interesting plot twists and character dynamics. 

We Know You Remember

Finished October 9

We Know You Remember by Tove Alsterdal, translated by Alice Menzies

This book won the Swedish Crime Novel of the Year award and is the first of Alsterdal's books to be translated into English. Set in a more northern area of Sweden, this story begins with Olof Hagström, who is delivering a car back to Stockholm, stopping at the house he grew up in, impulsively.

Unfortunately, he walks into a situation. When he retrieves the key from the hiding place he knew, following the barking of a dog inside, he finds not only the dog, but his father dead in the bath. 

As police officer Eira Sjödin, follows the clues from this death, she also finds herself wondering about the investigation of the crime that Olof was accused of back when he was fourteen.

Olof was accused of raping and murdering a local girl a few years older than him, but her body was never found. Olof was forced out of his home by his family into an institution, and his life since then has been a sad and lonely one. 

The case was notable in the town, and although Eira was only nine at the time, she was aware of it, as well as noting the fear that it aroused. Her investigation also leads her to another old crime, one solved years ago, but one that has a long tail, as one of the men involved in the crime has been recognized recently and talk has started. 

I found it interesting that Alsterdal based that crime on a real one that happened in Sweden, one that resulted in legal changes as the crime in the novel did. 

Eira is a capable officer as sees that this case opens opportunities for her. But she has also seen how her area has become a training area for new officers, ones who spend a year or two there and move on, and she feels that she doesn't want to be like them. She wants to made a difference in her community. It is her knowledge of the community, both past and present, that makes the difference in this case, and she is aware of that. 

So in more than one way, memory plays a role in this novel, as does the idea of guilt. There are those that are fearful of discovery, and those who would protect those they care for. Alsterdal digs into this with the various cases at hand, in a way that is engaging and thought-provoking. 

The Hidden Beach

Finished November 14

The Hidden Beach by Karen Swan

This novel has a lot going on. The main character, Bell Everhurst has been working as a nanny for three years for a professional couple in Stockholm. Bell is in her mid-twenties and, while English, had a Swedish grandmother and so speaks Swedish as well. The backstory for her presence in Stockholm comes out over the course of the book. 

The family she works for has a 9 year old son Linus, and twin girls, Elise and Tilde, who are four. Hanna is a physician and on the day the book begins, has had an emergency with a patient. When Bell takes a call from a clinic with an odd message, things as she know them, begin to unravel. 

With Linus's father emerging from a coma, things are now uncertain. He has significant influence, and Bell gradually senses that Hanna has less control of the situation than she would like. 

When summer arrives and the family goes off to their summer home, on a small island, things seem more normal, and Bell holds the fort there, entertaining and minding the kids during the day, with Hanna taking over after dark, and Max coming for the weekends. 

We also see Hanna's friends: her roommate Kris, a chef, and his doctor boyfriend Marc, and Tove, a server in the bar downstairs from their apartment. They also have a small cottage on the island archipelago, and often come down at weekends. 

When Midsommar arrives, Bell is given extra time off, and preps the friends place for their arrival, meeting a quiet man as she gathers supplies. While their first meeting doesn't go that well, there is a connection of sorts, and she sees him later during the festivities and still later, when taking a moment to herself. This night will set the scene for later developments, as Linus's father steps into the story in a bigger way. 

The story has an element of mystery, romance and lightheartedness, as well as a more serious plot underneath. Very enjoyable read. 

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

Finished April 29

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: a Novella by Fredrik Backman, translated by Alice Menzies

This short novel tells the story of a close relationship between a grandfather and his grandson Noah as the older man begins to lose his memory. The two have common interests including mathematics, fishing, and visits in an old beached boat the grandfather used an an office. One of the things they do is go on trips. Noah would close his eyes and Grandpa would take him somewhere, sometimes on foot, sometimes by bus, sometimes out in the boat. Noah then takes a map and a compass and works out how to get home. 

As the book begins Noah is waking up, sitting on a bench in a square with the sun rising. This time there aren't coordinates and Noah doesn't know where they are, but he doesn't want to admit it. When he hears his grandfather say 'the square got smaller overnight again,' he first looks at his grandpa questioningly and the does what he's been trained to do and takes in his surroundings carefully. 

The two have a lot of special memories and little jokes between them, and eventually we see other people, a young girl who ages into a woman; and Ted, a man with a beard who is the father of Noah.

As the conversations come and go, we begin to sense where they are, and this is confirmed through their words. We also see the larger picture of where the grandfather is, and what is happening.

This is a story that touches the reader and is very relatable. 

I wanted to share this book with someone special in my own life, and maybe I will. 

Beartown

Finished December 16
Beartown by Frederik Backman, translated by Neil Smith

I read this for my December bookclub meeting. I really enjoyed it, but it took me a while to get into it. I like hockey and live in a country where it is very popular, but it was the characters and the relationship dynamics that really made this book for me.
The story takes place in a small remote town in Sweden, Beartown. The town has been gradually declining, with businesses closing and people moving away. One hope for revitalization is to be the location for a new hockey school being built. The decision on where to build it will take place soon.
The town is split geographically by class and wealth. The richest people live in the Heights, a part of town uphill from the center. The poorest live in the Hollow, downhill from the center.
Peter Andersson is a hometown boy made good. He had a short NHL career and then came back to be the hockey club general manager in town. His wife Kira, is a successful lawyer, and works in another town nearby. They have two kids, Maya who is fifteen, plays guitar, and Leo, twelve. Maya's best friend Ana often stays at their house as well.
Sune is the coach for the A-team, and the one who convinced Peter to return to town. David is coach of the junior team and has a very different style from Sune. The two have grown apart, partly due to pressure from the club board and from David to move the star player from the junior team, Kevin Erdahl, up to the A team. Sune doesn't think he has the maturity.
Fatima is the cleaner at the club, a single mother, whose son Amat has been allowed to practice on the ice early in the morning in exchange for helping the caretaker. He is a good and fast player, although not that big, and currently plays on the team below the juniors, as he is only fifteen. Amat's best friends are Lifa and Zacharias, boys who, like Amat weren't like everyone else. Lars is the coach of the boys' team that Amat plays on.
Other players on the junior team are also important to the plot. One is Benji, Kevin's best friend, a good player himself, more mature than normal for his age. He grounds Kevin to a certain extent, but he also has his own secrets. Another is Bobo, a bully who throws his weight around, but also has a moral centre. William Lyt lives next door to Kevin and wants to be his best friend, but stands no chance with Benji around.
Other people in town that play important roles are Robbie Holts, a middle aged man who was once a hockey star, but wasn't mature enough to take the bad times with the good in stride, and is now down on his luck. Ramona owns the local pub, the Bearskin, just like her mother and her grandfather. She went to every game until her partner Holger died eleven years ago. Now she never leaves the pub. Her "boys" bring her what she needs.
As the author says, "hockey tells stories" and it definitely does here.
As the team works up for their big game, and then for the game after that, we see the various characters interact, make good choices and bad choices, and see lives get changed.
This is a book about hockey, about small towns, about families and friendships. about sexism and class. It is a microcosm of life.

The Stockholm Octavo

Finished August 12
The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann

This historical novel is set in the 1790s in Stockholm, Sweden. The narrator is Emil Larsson, a young man, who has worked hard to raise himself to the level of a secretaire in the government. His position is in the Customs and Excise office, and he has a sideline in reselling confiscated goods. He has come to his position through hard work, and hard play, teaching himself to be a skilled card player, and betting wisely, gaining the money to buy his position.
Now his Superior has decided that all the secretaires should be married, and Emil is one of the few who has no wife or fiance. Emil's favourite place to go to play cards is the house of Mrs. Sofia Sparrow, an older widow, who both runs a gaming parlour, and is a fortune-teller. She doesn't always use cards in her prognostications, but fairly often. When Emil is next at her house playing cards, she approaches him, and says she's had a vision for him concerning love and connection. She would like to lay an octavo for him, but first she must explain the rules around it. The cards serve as a guide to realizing the vision. Eight nights in a row she will lay cards until a card makes itself known as one of the Octavo. Laying the cards helps to identify who the people are in each role, and can then make it possible to manipulate them so the vision goes in the direction the seeker wishes. The seeker, in this case Emil, must swear an oath to complete the laying. Then he must work to identify who the people are in each role. The roles are: The Companion; The Prisoner; The Teacher; The Courier; The Trickster; The Magpie; The Prize; and The Key.
Along with this plot line, there is also one of royal intrigue. The King, Gustav has recently changed the law to give commoners rights and privileges previously reserved for the nobility. This has caused some of the nobility to rebel by refusing to sign the law, and be imprisoned for that rebellion. The group refers to themselves as the Patriots. Once released, they take their rebellion less openly, and choose the king's younger brother, Duke Karl as their leader. Duke Karl is a weak man, easily influenced by the flattering idea of becoming king. One woman in particular, the widow of one of the rebels, is determined to see the plot through. Her name is the Uzanne, and she has power beyond most women.
Another big theme to this novel is the use of the folding fan. A recent addition to the town's merchants is a skilled fanmaker, Christian Norden. He studied fanmaking in France and married a French woman, but with the growing unrest in France, they came to Christian's home country to make a new start. The Uzanne is a big collector of fans and uses them to get what she wants, whether it be a man or something else. She has some lovely and special fans in her collection and one of them plays a large role in this novel.
There is a lot going on here, and as Emil gradually identifies the people who have roles in his Octavo, we also see the plots developing. Some things, I could guess at ahead of time, but others took me by surprise. A very different and interesting novel.

Welcome to Gamla Stan!

Finished July 31
Welcome to Gamla Stan! by Michal Hudak

I picked up this book in Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm. A book for children grade 3 or 4 and up, it gives the history of this part of the city. The guide to the history is a seagull named Holmer, Stock Holmer, and he has something special to add in commentary in every part of this history.
There are also activities from coloring some of the pictures here to identifying some of the doors pictured, for those who are reading locally, or maybe checking it out through Google Maps Streetview.
Gamla Stan is a set of four islands at the heart of the city of Stockholm, with a rich and vibrant history, and this book gives facts, stories, and exciting details that will intrigue the reader. With lots of pictures, drawing, songs, legends, and a few quizzes, this is a book to go back to again and again.

European Novel

Finished October 22
Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti
This novel from Sweden is a charming story told from alternating points of view. Desiree (alias Shrimp) is a widowed librarian trying to come to terms with her young husband's sudden death and her own longing for children. Benny is a dairy farmer, whose mother has recently died from cancer. The two meet in the cemetery, with the graves they are each visiting next to each other. They come from very different worlds, and have very different interests, but are increasingly drawn to each other.
This novel is really about the characters and the choices they are up against. Once started, I found it hard to put down. It is not a conventional love story, but it is one that will grab your emotions.

Dystopian Novel

Finished August 28
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, translated by Marlaine Dalargy
This Swedish novel takes place in a society where productivity is paramount. Women over 50 and men over 60 who are childless and not in "progressive industries" are sent to the Unit. They have comfortable accommodation, plenty to eat, and state of the art amenities, and take part in drug and psychological testing. They also gradually donate their organs until the "final donation". They cannot contact anyone outside the Unit, although they have access to current television and media. The book follows Dorrit Weger as she enters the Unit following her 50th birthday. We watch as she makes new friends, continues to write books and adjust to her new reality. This is an exploration of psychological reactions under specific conditions, and explores the idea of who is valuable (needed) and who is dispensable in society. The subject matter is difficult, but it is handled well, and the character of Dorrit is deeply described. I highly recommend it.