Lena Andersson (1) (1970–)

Compelling dissection of an asymmetric relationship. A short book tackling a subject familiar to many but rarely written about at such length and with such insight. We see the action from the side of the keener lover, perpetually held at a distance, but maintaining hope (or self-delusion) despite all the evidence.

Written in short sentences, the style is deceptive in its simplicity and draws the reader in further and further as the book goes on, even as we see the inevitable and join in with show more the 'girlfriend chorus' in urging Ester to steer clear. It reminded me a little of Norwegian writer Dag Solstad with a touch of Alain de Botton. Our sympathies are entirely on Ester's side, but it would be fascinating to read the story from the other side as has been done so successfully for the Swedish classic Doktor Glas in Bengt Olsson's Gregorius.

The book was well received in Sweden, winning the August prize. Sarah Death's English translation has also garnered good reviews in the UK, and the book deserves not only this critical reception, but a wide readership. show less

You need to read my old review of this book first because you need to understand why I reread a book I've spent three year thinking was overrated and dumb. Because when I read it three years ago I didn't get it, at all. I had been single for eight years and hadn't attempted any dating at all, so I didn't know what it was like.

This past year I have dated several guys and every time it ended I thought to myself "oh no, I'm exactly like Ester Nilsson. I'm everything I hated". I thought she was show more a pathetic woman who took no responsibility for her own emotions and now I love her because she fucking tries calling him out on his bullshit. She rarely succeeds, but she tries.

And I still feel like it shouldn't be like this, but it absolutely is. All the guys I've dated has been exactly like this, but in their own stupid ways. They've all done some version of possessing you, then disappearing, then convincing themselves they never made any promises anyway. And it's all your fault.

Yeah, anyway I've completely changed my mind on this book. I'm sorry about that, past!Ell, but sometimes that's how it goes show less

"From the day she found language and ideas and realized where her mission lay, she renounced expensive living, ate cheaply, was always careful about contraception, only traveled rationally, had never been in debt to the bank or to any private person, and did not get herself into situations that forced her away from what she wanted to spend her time doing: reading, thinking, writing, and debating."

Until, of course, now.

This short novel is about the woman described above, and how she abruptly show more falls in love. It is a literally excruciating look at self-deception. Ester's love is unrequited and undeserved. Over and over, we wince as we read some variation on: "She thought: I should walk away. But I don't want to. I want to stand here with him. It's the only place in the world I want to be." As Lionel Shriver says on a back-cover blurb: "Alas, most women have lived this story." show less

This novel is a kind of non-epic family non-saga that describes the life of Ragnar Johansson, born of simple, poor parents at the beginning of modern Sweden, when the state was beginning to design the "people's home." Ragnar is a rigid believer in the wisdom of state officials and of rules in general. This makes him a not very pleasant husband and father, and he is perpetually cranky about the slightest violation of what he thinks are proper norms. As he ages, the social welfare state begins show more to fray just as social norms loosen. His story is both a portrait of stifled conformism and lack of imagination and a history of sorts of the rise and unraveling of the Swedish folkhemmet.

As an American, this novel is a bit of a puzzle. I would love to have some of the generous vision of the Swedish experiment in my life. In Ragnar's case, it appears to be stifling and feeds a sense of angry resistance to opening his mind. As a Minnesotan, I recognize some of the small minded conformity and adherence to rules that he embraces, but I found myself arguing with the story throughout that social welfare need not be tied to small-minded stiffness.

Perhaps, though, that's not what the author is saying; instead, by telling the story of one man and his family, we see their experience of a dramatic century for Swedish culture, from a highly-unequal and largely parochial society to an experiment in planning that produced much happier results than most such experiments, to a contemporary multicultural society that is far more European than parochial, leaving stick-in-the-mud Ragnar's head spinning.

The translation of this dryly comic novel by Sarah Death is very good. show less