Stina Jackson

Lelle, a middle-aged maths teacher left Lina, his seventeen-year-old daughter, at a bus stop in their remote hometown in Northern Sweden. At his insistence they had arrived there too early, because he didn’t want her to miss the bus which would be taking her to the first day of her summer job, planting spruce trees in a forest further north. However, it was not until several hours later that he and his wife Anette discovered that she hadn’t got on the bus, and that no one had seen her show more since her father had driven away. Intensive searches found no trace of her and, although Lelle, as the last person to see her alive, and Mikael, her boyfriend, were initially regarded as suspects, there was no evidence that either had been involved in her mysterious disappearance.
Three years later Lelle’s life is a mess: he is smoking and drinking too much, both his physical and his mental health have suffered, and his marriage has failed. Blaming him for not ensuring that their daughter got on the bus, Anette has left him and is now living with a new partner. The only thing which keeps him going is his determination not to give up on the hope that his daughter is still alive and to continue his search for her. Each summer, under the midnight sun, he drives along the Silver Road every night, minutely exploring every single turn-off and track, every occupied or deserted building, determined to succeed where the police have failed, and to find his daughter. On his lonely night-time drives he frequently feels that he is accompanied by her ghostlike presence and her reflections on how he is coping or, more accurately, not coping.
As the story starts, during this third summer, seventeen-year-old Meja and Silje, her mentally ill, hard-drinking mother, move to Lelle’s town to start a new life, moving in with a man Silje met on the internet. Meja, who has moved thirty times as a result of her mother’s chronic restlessness, wants nothing more than to experience a normal family life and make friends she can keep, but her desperate need puts her at risk. Inevitably the lives of Lelle and Meja cross and the disappearance of another girl of the same age, who bears a strong physical resemblance to Lina, has a profound impact on each of them.
Told from the alternating stories of Lelle and Meja the reader is immediately drawn into experiencing the painful journeys each of them is making as they try to gain some sort of control over their lives. There was such a sense of increasing tension as the story developed that there were times when I found it almost impossible to face what might be coming next. Lelle’s sadness and desperation at the loss of his daughter was evoked in such a heart-wrenching way that I found myself physically aching for him, as I did for Meja in her search for stability and normality. They were such well-drawn characters that there was never a moment when their stories didn’t feel convincing and I know that they will remain vividly in my memory for a very long time. However, it was not just these two main characters who were so well captured. Each of the others, from the supportive policeman Hassan, who was also Lelle’s friend, to Meja’s mother and her boyfriend and the strange, isolated family Meja becomes involved with, leapt from the pages in an utterly convincing way.
The author’s descriptions of this remote part of Northern Sweden, with the winding Silver Road weaving its way between endless forests and remote houses and buildings, sometimes occupied, sometimes abandoned, made me feel that I was travelling every mile with Lelle and Meja, that I was feeling the loneliness and isolation of the landscape, not only the often eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere, but also its ethereal and magical nature. Unfortunately, the evocative nature of the writing made it equally easy to feel the mosquitoes biting as they whined around in the air, ready to bite any exposed area of skin! The road, the surrounding landscape (and the mosquitoes!) certainly became major characters as the story progressed.
The fact that I had guessed the outcome of the story at quite an early stage did nothing to spoil the novel for me because the story is so beautifully written, with a haunting, lyrical prose which captured my imagination from the start. I know that this is a book which has garnered praise in Sweden for the quality of the writing, so I think it’s important to acknowledge Susan Beard’s superb translation of this remarkable debut novel, a story of love, loss, hope, obsession and redemption. Although at times desperately sad and melancholic, it is a story which also contains hope and I cannot recommend it too highly.
With thanks to Corvus and Readers First for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

In Ödesmark, a sparsely-populated village in the far north of Sweden, early spring retains is icy grip. Down-trodden Liv Björnlund lives with her seventeen-year-old son Simon and Vidar, her ageing, domineering father, in Björngården, her now much-neglected childhood home. When she was much younger she had made many attempts to leave, hitching rides from any man who was prepared to give her a lift however, all were unsuccessful because her father always tracked her down and took her back show more home. Although her urge to leave remains strong, Vidar controls every aspect of her and Simon's lives. Although rumoured to be extremely wealthy, with his fortune being kept in a safe in his bedroom to which only he knows the combination, he is a miserly man who refuses to spend money on anything he regards as a luxury.
As in any small community, rumours and gossip about the family are rife. Why has Liv allowed herself to remain dominated by her father for all these years? Who is Simon's father? What really goes on behind closed doors? Vidar's shady business deals over the years have affected several families in the village and have made him many enemies. One consequence of this is that for decades he has shunned their company and forced Liv and Simon to do the same, further isolating the family. He frequently tells Liv and Simon that '... the Björnlunds weren't much for company. We have solitude in our blood.'
Another consequence is that memories are long, with the desire for revenge growing stronger amongst his neighbours. Now someone has become determined to reclaim what is theirs ... whatever it takes. Two local drug-dealers, the violent, unpredictable Gabriel Lilja and his younger brother Liam, are employed to break into Vidar's safe and steal his money but their attempt goes wrong and someone is killed. But was it an accident or was it murder? And who is responsible?
This story is told from the alternating perspectives of Liv and Liam. Through moving backwards and forwards in time, it offers ever-deeper insights into Liv's life since 1998, when she made her first attempts to escape, the various influences which led her to remain, continuing to feel trapped and resentful yet unable to leave, as well as the nature of her ambivalent relationship with her father. One paragraph early in the story perfectly captures it's essence ...
'It was like an unspoken agreement they had, a kind of dance, so if one was sitting at the table, the other stayed by the sink. If one was moving about the floor, the other stood still, almost as if the house couldn't tolerate too much movement at the same time. Despite the fact that they had lived under the same roof since the day she was born, the distance between them had only grown.'
Liam's story has some parallels with Liv's in that he too wants to make a better life for himself. He is bringing up his much- loved young daughter Vanja on his own and is desperate to provide a secure home for her. However, he can't do this until he finds the strength to break away from the influence of his bullying, violent and controlling brother. As the story unfolds and suspicion shifts from one character to another, the tension inexorably builds and there is an ever-present sense of menace as rage-fuelled, vengeful feelings erupt into violence.
From the disturbing opening chapter it was clear that the story was likely to explore some very dark themes and to feature complex and deeply-flawed characters, a perfect combination for a compelling and at times a very disturbing read. The slow but remorseless build-up of tension added ever more layers of darkness to this deftly plotted story and I frequently found myself feeling almost unbearably anxious about what would happen next. I admired the way the author retained a tight control over the plot development and the shifting of suspicion from one character to another, a level of control which kept me guessing until very close to the final dénouement ... these days that doesn't happen very often so it was something I particularly appreciated!
Each one of the characters was exceptionally well-drawn and their relationships and interactions were portrayed with a psychological credibility which I found impressive, something which enabled me to very quickly feel engaged with them and to care about what would happen to them. I think the author also convincingly captured the rather incestuous nature of small, isolated communities and the many different ways in which rumour and gossip escalate, eventually providing fertile ground for simmering resentments to reach an emotional boiling point.
Central to the story is an exploration of the long-term, undermining effects of the coercive control which had over-shadowed the lives of Liv and Liam, enabling the reader to understand, and empathise with, their frequently submissive and apathetic behaviour … rather than just wanting to shout at them to take control of their lives! Other themes which would make this an excellent choice for book groups include friendship, loss, grief, the insidious nature of gossip and rumour in small communities and the various ways in which social background, dysfunctional family relationships and life-experiences can limit a person’s opportunities to improve their prospects.
Throughout the story I admired and appreciated the author’s perceptive observations of a whole range of human behaviour. Her ability to so convincingly capture the nuances of the characters tension-filled interactions meant that I frequently felt I was standing alongside them – quite a disconcerting feeling! She is equally talented in her impressive evocation of the landscape in which her story is set – the loneliness and claustrophobic isolation of the remote location, the sense of threat from the dark, brooding forest, a place which can hide hunters, of either the animal or human kind, and the falling snow which can so quickly obliterate tracks and deaden sounds.
I raved about Stina Jackson’s debut novel, The Silver Road, when it was first released in 2019 and wondered whether her second could possibly be as good … I’ve been delighted to discover that it is! Although in many ways it’s a much darker story, it is not without some lovely moments of lightness and humour and, ultimately, hope. This is another beautifully written novel from Stina Jackson (sympathetically translated by Susan Beard) and I recommend it without reservation.
With thanks to Readers First and the publisher for sending me this book in return for an unbiased review. show less

Norrland, weit oben im schwedischen Norden. Zwei Menschen sind auf der Suche. Lehrer Lelle such Lina, seine Tochter, die vor drei Jahren spurlos von der Bushaltestelle verschwunden ist, an der er sie morgens abgesetzt hatte. Die 17-jährige Meja sucht nur nach einem normalen Leben. Mehr als 30 Mal ist sie mit ihrer Mutter Silje bereits umgezogen, von einem Liebhaber zum nächsten, jetzt also in den Norden zu Torbjörn. Die dunklen Wälder machen dem Mädchen aus dem Süden Angst, auch show more Torbjörn kann sie nur schwer einschätzen, doch bald schon findet sie in den Brüdern Carl-Johan, Göran und Pär Freunde, mit denen sie die langen Sommertage verbringt. Sie sind anders, ihre Eltern leben abgeschieden auf einem Hof und versorgen sich selbst, meiden die Gesellschaft. Als von einem Campingplatz ein Mädchen verschwindet, wird Meja zum ersten Mal mit der dunklen Seite der Gegend konfrontiert. Wieder ein 17-jähriges Mädchen, wieder gibt es keine Spuren, ist sie auch in Gefahr?

Das Debut der gebürtigen Schwedin Stina Jackson, die seit zehn Jahren jedoch bereits in den USA lebt, ist geprägt von der düsteren Stimmung des wenig besiedelten schwedischen Nordens. Entweder die Figuren leben völlig im Einklang mit der Natur oder diese breitet ihre Düsterheit und ihren Schrecken über ihnen aus. Atmosphärisch überzeugend hat die Autorin ihre Story in die wenig idyllische Umgebung eingebaut und erzeugt selbst in friedlichen Situationen ein gewisses Unbehagen.

Die beiden Handlungsstränge um Lelle und Meja werden parallel erzählt. Jede Nacht macht sich der trauernde Vater auf, um die Gegend nach Spuren von Lina abzusuchen, jede Nacht aufs Neue begegnet er potenziellen Tätern, jede Nacht kehrt er mit leeren Händen zurück. Seine Trauer ist überwältigend, fordert ihn völlig bis zur absoluten Belastungsgrenze, doch er gibt nicht auf. Man fühlt sein Leid und wünscht ihm so sehr, dass er endlich Frieden findet. Meja bemitleidet man gleichermaßen, ihre familiäre Situation ist mehr als prekär und man erhofft für das Mädchen, endlich entfliehen zu können. Mit der Begegnung mit den drei Jungs scheint zum ersten Mal so etwas wie Normalität in ihr Leben zu treten, auch wenn der Familie sehr seltsame Prepper zu sein scheinen und sich täglich mit Verschwörungstheorien beschäftigen.

Beide Figuren sind authentisch gezeichnet, vor allem ihr Schmerz bzw. die Einsamkeit der beidem wird deutlich. Dass sich ihre Wege kreuzen müssen, liegt auf der Hand. Die Auflösung des Falles wird ebenfalls überzeugend angebahnt und zu einem sauberen Schluss gebracht. Die Geschichte lebt nicht von nervenzerreißender Hochspannung, sondern wird von den Emotionen der Figuren getragen und besticht durch die düstere Atmosphäre, die sich mit Eintritt des Herbstes noch deutlich verstärkt. Eine rundherum stimmige Erzählung, die die Erwartungen an weitere Romane der Autorin hochschraubt. show less

I chose the book entirely because its understated cover seemed to promise a slowly developing, evocative read. And that's what it delivered. Set in under-populated northern Sweden, there is a dual story line. School teacher Lelle has spent the last three years obsessively seeking his daughter, who disappeared from a lonely bus stop early one morning, and of whom no trace has ever been found. His marriage has disintegrated, and he too, friendless and dysfunctional, is falling apart. Seventeen show more year old Meja and her mother Silje move to the area after Silje meets a local man online. Silje is mentally troubled, and has for years dragged her daughter from place after place as she gets together with a succession of unsuitable men. Meja seems to find a way out from this when she meets a boy and falls in love with him and with his family who live self-sufficiently, having excluded themselves from the modern world. The story as it unfolds perhaps brings few surprises. However, the landscape of dense, dark forest filled with abandoned houses, lakes and secrets encroaches upon everything, and it's this unsettling landscape and its secrets that carries the story forward. It's immersive, slow and the ending isn't particularly surprising. But the power of this novel is in the slowly emerging characters of the main protagonists, and in the depiction of the untamed landscape which they inhabit. show less