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Author: Liljestrand, Jens

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 20 June 2024 by Orion Publishing Co (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 448 pages
197 x 130 x 31 | 312g

The climate crisis has escalated beyond our worst nightmares. Raging wildfires sweep through the Swedish countryside, turning vacationers into climate refugees. And yet, against this hellscape, life goes on. Marriages collapse; teenagers fall in love; parents succumb to midlife crises; children rebel. As society starts to lose its footing, the fates of four very different characters intertwine.

Didrik, a father of three and media consultant, finds that his misguided efforts to be the hero that saves his family only make things worse.

Melissa, a climate change denying influencer, is determined to live for the moment, despite it all.

André, the bitter teenage son of an international sports star, uses the erupting violence to orchestrate his own personal revenge.

And Vilja, a once self-absorbed teenage girl steps up in the face of all this adult ineptitude, to organise and resist.

Brilliantly written, profoundly moving, devastatingly funny, this novel asks us to face up to one question: how will you decide to live, even if everything ends?TRANSLATED FROM THE SWEDISH BY ALICE MENZIES