This review is part of the Literature World Tour.
Shadow is a drama. It's a drama about families and family secrets. It opens with a flashback - a very young boy is abandoned at an amusement park. Then we move into the present day and meet a civil servant tasked with arranging the final affairs of those who died alone. She stumbles on a freezer full of books penned by Nobel prize-winning author Axel Ragnerfeldt - they are all dedicated to the deceased, one Gerda Persson.
And that's when the story really gets going.
This is one of those novels where there aren't really any likeable characters - Jan-Erik, Axel's son, loves himself and also sports a massive chip on his shoulder. His wife seems wrapped up in insecurity. We do meet the abandoned boy again, and as you can imagine, he's quite the piece of work. In the present day, Axel is an invalid and his wife (Jan-Erik's mother) is an alcoholic and emotionally needy as well.
Knowing that this is a translation also makes me feel distant from the real story - while the translator has done a good job, there was always something in the back of my mind saying, "You're not reading Alvtegen's words, you don't know if this is what she really meant!"
But now for the good news. While not some sort of morality tale with an important social message to share, Shadow is an absorbing read and a great way to escape real life in a couple of sittings. Even better, you thank the sweet Lord that you don't know any people who are that self-obsessed. I could see the ending coming but I couldn't at the same time - I simply knew it wasn't going to end well, but for whom?
Next in Scandinavia: Steve Mitchelmore's review of Novel 11, Book 18
Next stop on the Literature World Tour: Russia!
