Well-written depression

It's a bit unfair by me being disappointed by this novel, but the other books I've read by Axelsson were much better, both the fictional Aprilhäxan, one of the best new Swedish novels I've read, and Rosarios död, the documentary tale of child prostitution in the Phillipines.

The story about the foreign diplomat and her life is told in flashbacks, weaving together four strands of her life: Today, her childhood, her life when married and mostimportantly, her experience after a vulcano eruption in thePhillipines. Craftily told, it is all too depressing for me, what with everyone being depressed or too scarred by society to function.

To be fair, this novel was written before Aprilhäxan, and it is still a good one, so if you're in the mood for it, by all means read it.

Facts

• Her first fictional novel
• Recieved the Moa Martinsson reward