Book number 4: Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman.
The blurb:
Midsummer eve, 1974, in the far north of Sweden. Annie Raft arrives with her six-year-old daughter in a small town called Blackwater to join her lover Dan on a commune. But Dan is not there to meet them. Panicking, Annie treks into the wilderness to find the commune, in the strange, hovering light of midsummer night. By the river, she finds a tent; and inside it two bodies hideously murdered - stabbed so violently that the feathers from their sleeping bag scatter the ground. Many years later, Annie has settled in the region, and Mia, her daughter has grown up. Early one morning glimpses Mia in the arms of the man she believes responsible for the murders. The seemingly inexplicable crime, long buried, is forced to come to its own dark and unexpected conclusion.
My view:
A long hard slog... but I always read to the very last page. A dark and disturbing tale; beautifully detailed descriptions set scenes and moments in time, but complicated, confusing and, at times, monotonous. Complex characters and Swedish names, and a plot jumping from one character to the next and from the present time to the past = not an easy book to read on the bus! The first half is very slow but the second half moves along at a slightly quicker pace as the plot develops and you understand the characters more. I think you'll either love this book, or absolutely hate it.
The blurb:
Midsummer eve, 1974, in the far north of Sweden. Annie Raft arrives with her six-year-old daughter in a small town called Blackwater to join her lover Dan on a commune. But Dan is not there to meet them. Panicking, Annie treks into the wilderness to find the commune, in the strange, hovering light of midsummer night. By the river, she finds a tent; and inside it two bodies hideously murdered - stabbed so violently that the feathers from their sleeping bag scatter the ground. Many years later, Annie has settled in the region, and Mia, her daughter has grown up. Early one morning glimpses Mia in the arms of the man she believes responsible for the murders. The seemingly inexplicable crime, long buried, is forced to come to its own dark and unexpected conclusion.
My view:
A long hard slog... but I always read to the very last page. A dark and disturbing tale; beautifully detailed descriptions set scenes and moments in time, but complicated, confusing and, at times, monotonous. Complex characters and Swedish names, and a plot jumping from one character to the next and from the present time to the past = not an easy book to read on the bus! The first half is very slow but the second half moves along at a slightly quicker pace as the plot develops and you understand the characters more. I think you'll either love this book, or absolutely hate it.
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