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Summary
Summary
Drowned, set in the idyllic countryside during a short-lived Swedish summer, gets under one's skin from the first page, creating an atmosphere of foreboding in which even the perfume of freshly picked vegetables roasting in the kitchen becomes ominous.
Marina has left behind her stalled relationship and floundering career in Stockholm to visit her sister in rural Skåne, where she lives in a house full of books, gorgeous flowers and, as Marina soon learns, many secrets. 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, this debut novel delves deep into the feminine soul and at the same time exposes the continuing oppression of women in Sweden's supposedly enlightened society. Mixing hothouse sensuality with ice-cold fear on every page, Drowned heralds the emergence of a major new talent on the international scene.
Author Notes
Therese Bohman is a columnist for Expressen , writing about literature, art, culture, and fashion. Her debut novel Drowned was published by Other Press in 2012. She lives in Sweden.
Marlaine Delargy has translated novels by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Kristina Ohlsson, and Helene Tursten, as well as The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (Other Press) and Therese Bohman's Drowned (Other Press). She lives in England.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
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 Skane 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. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In a horrifyingly compelling psychological thriller set in modern-day Sweden, directionless college student Marina travels to Skane for a lengthy visit with her sister, whom she has not been in touch with in several years. She's happy about the reunion, but her sister's boyfriend, Gabriel, much older and a famous author, is a bit strange. Something about the relationship makes Marina uneasy. Yet she's also strangely attracted to Gabriel and can't resist his advances. Bohman manages to flesh out characters, setting, and plot in just over 200 pages, a feat that makes for a highly engaging and fast-paced read, yet one with great depth. Highly recommended for all crime collections; try suggesting this different take on Scandinavian crime fiction to fans of Karin Alvtegen or readers who enjoyed Kaaberbol and Friis' The Boy in the Suitcase (2008).--Moyer, Jessica Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Who will be drowned when Marina, an undergraduate from Stockholm, visits her older sister, Stella, at the beautiful house in the countryside where she lives with Gabriel, a handsome but temperamental (and much older) author? Not Marina, because she narrates Bohman's novel, albeit in a voice that suggests she's already emotionally underwater. If Stella discovers that Gabriel had sex with Marina a few days after her arrival, maybe Stella will maneuver him into the nearby lake. Or perhaps Stella, clasped in a sadomasochistic relationship with Gabriel, will drown herself or be murdered. At one point when she and Gabriel are alone in the house, Marina notices a clock that "sounds irregular, some seconds are far too long, as if the hand is hesitating before marking each second." The novel, translated by Marlaine Delargy, leaves a similar impression, with passages of contrived suspense bulked out with descriptions of meals, pets, clothing, flora, furniture and the weather. Bohman quotes from Swinburne ("There are sins it may be to discover, /There are deeds it may be to delight") and Rimbaud ("On the calm black water where the stars are sleeping/ White Ophelia floats like a great lily") to assure us that her intentions are highly literary, but the poetry just adds to the book's aura of artifice.
Kirkus Review
A tale of identity and tense personal relationships, one that as a film property would have appealed to Hitchcock or de Palma. In the first part of the story Marina, the narrator, is drowning in all kinds of ways, for her life is marred by inconsequence. Her relationship with her boyfriend is desultory, and she's supposedly working on an art history paper on Dante Gabriel Rossetti but has little commitment to the task. At this point in her life she visits her sister Stella and Stella's husband Gabriel, a volatile novelist. Immediately, an edgy attraction develops between Marina and her brother-in-law. Stella works her job as a landscapist in the small Swedish town near which they live, so she's away from home much of the time, leaving Gabriel to work on his latest novel and Marina to feel the magnetic pull of his personality. On the surface, Gabriel seems kind and attentive, but Marina senses a deeper friction--hints of physical abuse, for example, and anger out of proportion to the events that gave rise to it. Ultimately, however, Marina willingly gives in to the passion she feels for him, a passion fed by the languorous and oppressive heat of the Swedish summer. The second part of the story skips ahead several months, for the weather, the cold rain of November, is now oppressive in a different way. Marina has returned to the house after Stella's death by drowning. She had slipped on a rock by a lake and supposedly hit her head, but Marina eventually finds herself open to the possibility that Gabriel had something to do with the "accident"--and she fears that Gabriel's novel based on Ophelia might have adumbrated his wife's death. A slim novel with a taut narrative line and a sense of impending disaster. ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
In this literary thriller, a young woman bends to her alluring yet violent brother-in-law. Raves in Sweden; "[this] may be the debut of the year" (Arbetarbladet). (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
I am slightly embarrassed by his scrutiny, I imagine he must think I look pale, wrong in some way, ugly. But that is not what his expression suggests. I wonder what he's thinking. A lock of hair has fallen into his eyes, he pushes it back with his hand and leaves a red mark on his forehead. When he looks at his hand and sees that it is sticky with paint, he realizes what has happened. "Have I got red paint on my forehead?" "Yes." I smile. So does he, slightly embarrassed again. "A lot?" "No, not really…let me." I move a step closer and run my thumb gently over the mark on his forehead. He looks at me, no longer smiling. There is a strong smell of paint, as if the hot, still air is intensifying the smell, making it linger. The lock of hair falls into his eyes again, and I gently push it aside to get at the paint. I can feel his breath against my cheek, he is close now, bending his head toward me so that I can reach. His forehead is brown from the sun, his whole face, his arms, he is wearing a faded black T-shirt and he smells wonderful, warm. "Has it gone?" "Yes." I hold up my hand to show him, red paint on my thumb and forefinger, and he suddenly grabs hold of my wrist, twists my hand around, and looks at my fingers. It is a rapid movement, decisive, his grip is hard, just like when I met him on that first evening, the firm handshake. Perhaps he isn't aware of how strong he is. "Pretty nail polish," he says. I did my nails last night, a cool pink, shimmering like mother-of pearl in the sunlight. "Thanks," I say quietly. Excerpted from Drowned by Therese Bohman All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
