Mount Verity
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 7 Apr 2026
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Tinged with Swedish lore, this enthralling coming-of-age tale explores art and guilt in the wake of a mysterious tragedy at the end of the 1980s.
On the night of Easter Eve 1989, 12-year-old Hanna’s older brother Erik and some friends go to the infamous Mount Verity, where there is a cave that, according to legend, was used in the witch trials in Östergötland during the 17th century. Rumor has it that whoever does not tell the truth and goes down into the cave will disappear into the mountain. Erik never comes home that night.
Over the years, Hanna and her childhood friend Marcus develop an increasingly symbiotic relationship, until life takes them in different directions. He pursues an academic career, while she fails to get into art school, feeling uncertain about her path and doubting her talent. When Hanna finally becomes a successful artist, she cannot let go of what it has cost her. What justice decided that she was allowed to live while Erik vanished? What is there left to believe in when the worst has happened? And can the story of Mount Verity be more than a fable?
Mount Verity is an atmospheric, naturalistic tale of survivor’s guilt told in prose at once dreamy, almost magical, and yet realistic and rife with slowly building suspense.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1989 Sweden, 12-year-old Hanna is shattered by the disappearance of her older brother in this introspective if meandering offering from Bohman (Andromeda). Erik is 15 when he goes with friends to Mt. Verity, a place near their hometown associated with 17th-century witch trials. It's rumored that whoever goes into the cave there and tells a lie will be absorbed into the mountain. Erik's companions remember nothing of what happened that night, and the search for him is eventually called off, leaving Hanna forever known as "the girl whose brother disappeared." Her one close relationship is with Marcus, a fellow outsider whom she met when they were both five, and they advance from friends to romantic partners. To meet up with Marcus, Hanna crosses the woods surrounding her village, a mystical place that gives her "a sense that something invisible was lingering among the trees." Ten years pass and Hanna and Marcus are out of touch, living in separate cities, neither having fulfilled their childhood dreams. At their high school reunion, they confront each other, their lives, and their relationship. The narrative doesn't develop into much of a story, but Bohman evokes a strong sense of place, rendering the landscape as both magical and tangible. There's much to savor in this slow-burning meditation on a family tragedy.
