6/4/2023 0 Comments Karin alvtegen books in orderThe claustrophobic family ties, mysterious disappearances and dark secrets surrounding a man shrouded in myth were portrayed with an honesty and brutality that spoke of deep understanding. The novel poses the question: How much is glory and fame really worth, when counted in the suffering of the people closest to you? His family were portrayed with such depth and empathy that the reader felt their hopelessness. ( the author of the books in the freezer). Set in Stockholm, the novel followed the life and family of Axel Ragnerfeldt, a famous and Nobel Prize winning novelist. When the circumstances are revealed it left me both disturbed and profoundly moved. In fact the reader does not really know what the crime(s) were until close to the end of the book. The novel was a mystery, but not written in the traditional way. Too old to be the boy’s mother, how could this woman be connected to him? Then I read the blurb at the back which told me that this little boy was abandoned and was somehow connected to the death thirty five years later of a 92 year old woman who had books in her freezer upon her death… That was enough to capture the attention of any bibliophile. I’ll admit this is one of those novels where the cover art drew me in. The words seem to speak directly to the reader in a heart-touching and sometimes heart-wrenching way. The single most positive aspect of this novel is the beautifully written prose.
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