Stephen T. Murray (Translator)
Two women are trapped by a past that won't let them go.
As Maj–Britt festers malevolently in her hermetic apartment, appeased only by an endless supply of food, Monika blots out her pain by ceaselessly working, punishing herself unforgivingly for any failure.
They have nothing in common but the determination to obliterate their memories and be left alone – but when a letter and a tragic accident force each of them to confront the past, their lives become inextricably intertwined.
As the emotional void of their lives threatens to engulf them, each woman proves the catalyst for the other’s destruction – or salvation. A taut psychological thriller, Shame subtly explores the devastating powers of fear, oppressive religion and forbidden sexuality. With all the elements of classic noir, Alvtegen has written her finest book to date.
Anna Paterson (Translator)
Sybilla Forsenstrom doesn't exist. For fifteen years she has been excluded from society and, as one of the homeless in Stockholm, she takes each day as it comes, keeping all her possessions in her rucksack - apart from a knife and salami which she stores in a smart briefcase. She is always well- dressed and displays impeccable manners. One night, in The Grand Hotel, she charms a susceptible businessman into paying for her dinner and room. His dead body is discovered the following morning and Sybilla becomes the prime suspect. When a second person is killed in similar circumstances, she becomes the most wanted person in Sweden.
Karin Alvtegen
Shame
Joel Rose
