DEN ANDRA KVINNAN – THE OTHER WOMAN
By Therese Bohman
SHE WORKS AT Norrköping Hospital, at the very bottom of the hierarchy. Below the doctors, the nurses and the nursing assistants. She works in the canteen, but dreams of one day becoming an author, of moving away and living a completely different life.
THERE IS ONE doctor that stands out in the crowd. His name is Carl Malmberg. One day they end up in conversation, the rain is pouring down and he offers her a lift. This becomes the starting point of a passionate love affair between a married man and a mistress that longs to be somewhere else. Because surely he will never be hers?
At the same time, Carl Malmberg’s sexual preferences tend to involve him being a doctor and her being a little girl.
AND WHO IS the mysterious girl Alex, who doesn’t care what anyone thinks and who might also be in love with her.
Yet there is a secret that she never would have predicted. A secret that will have consequences for all those involved.
THERESE BOHMAN’S The Other Woman is a psychological and passionate drama where questions of power and sexuality are brought to a head. But it is just as much a novel about finding one’s dreams and challenging the fears within.
ABOUT THE BOOK
First published by Norstedts, Sweden, 2014
201 pages
RIGHTS SOLD TO
Denmark, Gyldendal
Norway, Cappelen Damm
Poland, Wydawnictwo Pauza
Romania, Casa Cartii de Stiinta
Russia, Gorodets
Sweden, Norstedts
USA, Other Press
REVIEWS
“… I love to drink in the settings that Therese Bohman paints: the autumn fog, the moisture, the colourful burst of the leaves and the city dusk.”
– Kristian Ekenberg, Arbetarbladet, Sweden
“Without a shadow of a doubt I would say that The Other Woman is a scathing, initiated, enthralling and, at the same time, very funny novel that defines a generation.”
– Jonas Thente, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
“The story is expressed with clarity, precision. After I finish reading I realise that it has impaled me. It is both simple and effective.”
– Charlotte Wiberg, Kristianstadsbladet, Sweden
“The prose is alluring, rhythmic and polyphonic /…/ The Other Woman convinces with its format and its expression. The reader is able to experience, touch upon an intimate, unique reality that does not demand an immediate opinion.”
– Inga-Lina Lindqvist, Aftonbladet, Sweden
“… Therese Bohman forcefully revitalizes the most hackneyed clichés. It is extremely cleverly executed, and the novel also possesses a deeper attraction and energy, which makes it hard to resist. Therese Bohman consolidates her position as an author following the international success with debut novel Drowned /…/ The Other Woman is a powerful, urgent, continuously alarming novel that highlights vital issues about the context of existence, that touches and raises questions about the fundamental and crucial meanings that most of us want to find in our lives.”
– Crister Enander, Helsingborgs Dagbladt, Sweden
“… Therese Bohman is an accomplished writer with a well-rounded style that does not lack colour or body. Above all, Bohman’s prose is full of smells: she skilfully sets the mood in the scullery by describing the scent of food, grease and moisture. Scents that the narrator soon associates with erotica and desire.”
– Cecilia Ekebjär, Dalarnas Tidningar, Sweden
“Therese Bohman’s thoughts on class and femininity will most probably cause a stir. No matter how one interprets this, The Other Woman is still a both well-written and well-narrated novel. The main protagonist’s combination of ocassionally irksome elitism and fathomless vulnerability becomes, in Bohman’s hands, both genuine and plausible.”
– Paulina Helgeson, Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden
“If the sign of a successful novel makes one want to linger in the atmosphere that every situation creates, while the reading itself is marked by expectation, then The Other Woman is a successful story.”
– Eva Ström, Sydsvenskan, Sweden
The Other Woman can be read as an enthralling love story but underneath lies an original and profound discussion about the terms and conditions of the serious game in a society that comes across as completely contemporary and present.
– Christian Swalander, Borås Tidning, Sweden
“It has been a while since a fictional character generated so many emotions in me – from admiration to deep aversion /…/ The cliché, the most solid condition of the novel, might appear tantalizing to different readers. But it certainly is hard to resist, when it is handled in such an elaborate, insolent and stylish manner /…/ Troublemaker with a pearl earring.”
– Elin Ruuth, Västerbottens-Kuriren, Sweden
“Erotic and shrewd…[Bohman’s] prose is breathtaking…An elegant, rich take on on an age-old narrative.”
– Publishers Weekly (starred review), US
“This novel has it all: a page-turner with an intricate love story and fundamental political questions.”
– Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway
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