POLARSOMMAR – ARCTIC SUMMER
BY SWÄRD, ANNE
Following a two-year absence, Kristian returns to his childhood home to look after his sister Kaj. During the course of a few emotionally charged summer weeks a family drama unfolds in the house by the sea. In the centre of events is Kaj – the innocent, unpredictable 22-year-old, and the reason why their father left his family. But is it Kaj’s fault that Kristian is unable to cut the ties with his women? That their brother Jens is unable to control his temper? That their mother Ingrid is unable to choose sides? To the outside world they’re a family like all others. But underneath the surface tremble unfulfilled expectations and fatal betrayals.
This is a dark and poetic debut about a family torn to pieces, not by hate but by love.
ABOUT THE BOOK
First published by Wahlström & Widstrand, Sweden, 2003.
208 pages.
AWARDS
The August Prize 2003 (nomination)
RIGHTS SOLD TO
Finland, Otava
France, Libella
The Netherlands, Saga Egmont
Persian, Café 60 Media
Sweden, Albert Bonniers Förlag
REVIEWS
…with this debut Swedish literature has been blessed with a new author voice well worth listening to.
Eva Johansson, Svenska Dagbladet
Anne Swärd’s “Polarsommar” is one of the most stylish debut novels for a long time and well worth its August Prize nomination. Without simplifying, the text grabs hold of the reader from the start and only lets go once the story of the eccentric Kaj and her family has been told. A strong psychological portrayal.
Kristianstadsbladet
… a story that you read with complete trust in the author’s authority and competence. The narrative and the creation is solid, the plot acutely constructed without feeling contrived, and the execution is brilliant.
UNT
… an emotional thriller written in an efficient, beautiful and compact prose.
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