Long hot days, a gentle breeze, the sound of water gurgling in the fountain......balancing our hectic lives with the relaxation and pleasure of summer. Is there any better way than curling up with some great reads by the pool ?
Here are some Svenska reads in English that you won't want to miss.
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, by Vendela Vida : On the day of her father's funeral, twenty-eight-year old Clarissa Iverton discovers that he wasn't her biological father after all. Her mother disappeared fourteen years earlier, and her fiance has just revealed a life changing secret to her. Alone and adrift, Clarissa travels to mystical Lapland, where she believes she'll meet her real father. There, at a hotel made of ice, Clarissa is confronted with the truth about her mother's history, and must make a decision about how and where to live the rest of her life.
Astrid & Veronika, by Linda Olsson: Veronika, a 30 year old Swedish writer, rents a home in a remote village to finish work on her second novel. Her only neighbor for miles is Astrid, a reclusive octogenarian who has earned a reputation as the village witch. Veronika and Astrid gradually become friends, taking long walks and sipping wine made from the wild strawberries in Astrid's garden. Each shares painful secrets along the way. Veronika abandoned a devoted boyfriend to take up with a bartender from New Zealand. They fell passionately in love, then tragedy befell him, leaving Veronika paralyzed by grief. Astrid endured abuse from her father and a long loveless marriage to a man chosen by him. Until now, she has never told anyone the truth about her infant daughter's death. This is the first novel for Olsson, a native of Stockholm who now lives in New Zealand.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson: In The Summer Book Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer-its sunlight and storms, into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia's grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tens to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old: life, death, the nature of God and of love. Jansson created a complete a beautiful world in this book. It is translated from the original which was written in Swedish.
Unseen by Mari Jungstedt: Swedish journalist Jungstedt's first mystery, set on the island of Gotland, a popular tourist destination, opens with some promise. After a gathering of friends dissolves amid jealous accusations, the source of the conflict, Helena Hillerström, vanishes from her home, only to turn up the victim of a savage ax murder. This violent act shocks the residents of the normally sleepy resort island. Despite the dedicated efforts of Insp. Anders Knutas, the killer strikes twice again.
