Drowned
A Novel
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Set in the idyllic countryside during a short-lived Swedish summer, this page-turner gets under the skin, creating an atmosphere of foreboding in which even the aroma of freshly picked vegetables roasting in the kitchen becomes ominous.
Marina has left behind her stalled relationship and floundering academic career in Stockholm and travels to rural Skåne to visit her sister, Stella. They haven’t seen each other in some time, and Stella now lives with a much older, quite famous author, Gabriel. The couple resides in a beautiful old house full of books, gorgeous flowers and, as Marina soon learns, plenty of secrets. Despite herself, Marina becomes more and more enthralled by the enigmatic and unpredictable Gabriel, even as she becomes convinced that something isn’t right about her sister’s new love.
Nothing is as it seems in this spellbinding novel of psychological suspense that combines hothouse sensuality with ice-cold fear on every page. More than a mere thriller, it delves deep into the feminine soul and at the same time exposes the continuing oppression of women in Sweden’s supposedly egalitarian society.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A summer visit to a remote Swedish country house sends dangerous ripples through seemingly perfect lives in Bohman's unsettling debut. Academic burnout Marina leaves art history behind and travels to rural Sk ne to stay with her older sister, Stella, and Stella's much older boyfriend, well-known writer Gabriel. Despite the oppressive heat, all seems lovely at first; Marina enjoys walking the grounds and discussing art with Gabriel. Unsurprisingly, all is not well between the couple, which Marina gathers piecemeal from her sister they've never been close and Stella's job keeps her away and from the increasingly amorous Gabriel. Nature is a constant presence, particularly the life and death cycle of the cottage's impressive gardens. Bohman delicately pulls apart the seams of Stella and Gabriel's relationship and lays an almost undetectable layer of menace around the increasingly interwoven trio. Alliances continually, and subtly, shift: from united sisters to established couple against the interloper to secret lovers against an unwitting third wheel. The seasonal and structural changes are deliberately understated and carry emotional weight into the climax, which Bohman deftly makes both foregone and suspenseful, leaving the reader wondering if everyone was doomed from the start.
