Karin Alvtegen's "Shadow" is a dense philosophical study of whether or not "our choices are without meaning" or whether "it is precisely our choices that make all the difference." She presents the difference in these two views of choice with a story told by a character in the novel about a Nazi soldier sent as part of an execution squad who chooses to die with the condemned Jews rather than become one of their killers. Alvtegen continues her illustratration of the question of choice through the various choices and consequences of several characters: Kristopher, a boy abandoned on the steps of an amusement park who, even as an adult keeps hoping his parents will find him again; Marianne Folkesson, the Social Services estate administrator charged with finalizing the estates of the clients who died while under state care; Gerda Persson, former housekeeper to Axel Ragnerfeldt, whose estate Folkesson must resolve; Axel Ragnerfeldt, Nobel Prize for Literature winner, and his family; Torgny Wennberg, a forgotten writer and Ragnerfeld's cohort: Halina, Wennberg's former girlfriend, who becomes obsessed with Ragnerfeldt; and Jesper Falk, a writer and best friend of Kristopher, whose book has just been accepted for publication.

The author presents these lives, their choices, and their consequences by examining stretches of past and present where these lives and their choices intersect. In terms of tone and the human condition, James Joyce's "Jude" and Somerset Maughm's "Of Human Bondage" come to mind. At times the introspection of the characters becomes quite tiresome, at other times sharply illuminating. But the author does a dead-on job of revealing how lack of communication between people can destroy the bonds of friendship and family and drive choices and all their unintended consequences.

This is not a novel for anyone who seeks to escape the tedium of everyday life. Rather, it is certainly a cautionary tale of how a momentary choice can "make all the difference." ( )

Psychological thrillers aren't really my genre, but a new found liking for Inger Frimansson has made me interested in venturing into this field. And so far I generally like what I find, I must say.

This dark and sad novel is a puzzle without a detective. It starts with some names found in an adress book in a deceased woman with no next of kin's flat, something which starts to unravel a whole net of old lies, secrets and crimes. Something is very rotten indeed in the house of Sweden's most acclaimed writer, nobel prize winner Axel Ragnefeldt. His voice, trapped inside his paralysed body after a brain anyerism, fearing for what might be found in the closet in his office, is one of the book's more powerful ones.

But the book is very polyphonic, telling from the point of view of many different characters, all of them being subjective, self-righteous, self-loathing or self-pitying. In the end, the only one with all the answers is the reader. It's cleverly and skillfully achieved.

The characters feel mostly solid, humanly trapped in their own petty agendas. I feel I get to know them, and mostly even understand them. A few moment of shocking unlikeliness, hard to overlook, occur though (such as Axel's response to Torgny's ulitmatum which I just don't buy) and brings the book down a notch or two.

This book made me sad a lot of times. The descriptions of stale and loveless relationships are pretty harsh, and there's very litte light throughout. But it's a fine, complex weave, and leaves me wanting to read more of Alvtegen. ( )

Scandinavian crime writers tend to do two things very well: delve deeply into the psychology of the characters and their intimate relationships and examine social issues through the impact of a crime. In this novel, the former takes center stage as the secret of who abandoned a small child in the opening pages is slowly, very slowly, unraveled. While Alvtegen is a master of character analysis, I didn't find myself very interested in these people and the ratio of introspection to action didn't suit my personal tastes. That said, I've seen many strongly positive reactions to this book, so don't take my word for it.

Gerda Persson had lain dead for three days by the time the home help discovered her body. Her decision that at her death she would reveal to the person who most needed to know a secret she had been burdened with for 35 years sets in train a sequence of events that destroys lives.

Thirty five years before a little boy had been left on the steps of the Skansen amusement park, apparently abandoned by his mother. For 35 years he has searched for his identity, and now he will find out.

The structure of this book is like the orchestral composition where one by one the players are introduced, each playing a slightly different theme, in their own world. And then the players come together, the composition gathers tempo, rising to a heart stopping crescendo. I saw none of the resolutions of the various themes in SHADOW coming, and they left me nearly breathless.
And then the final 3 pages, for me reminscent of that final line from T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men, .."not with a bang, but with a whimper".

I'm staggered by the power of this book. ( )

Scandinavian crime novelists share a certain dour sensibility with a tendency to create characters who feel isolated from society. Alvtegen does this beautifully and her writing reminds me of Barbara Vine and Minette Walters, with her own Scandinavian take on things.

Shame begins with the story of a four-year-old boy abandoned at an amusement park and continues with the death of a lonely old woman thirty years later, As the story unfolds, it pulls in a Nobel prize winning author, a concentration camp survivor, a well meaning social worker and many other seemingly unrelated threads to weave together a tightly plotted tale asking how far would you go to protect the life you feel you deserve? ( )