A novel of family dynamics set in MAINE
Novel of a failing marriage set mainly in STOCKHOLM (and Gotland)
3rd September 2024
The Divorce by Moa Herngren, novel of a failing marriage set mainly in STOCKHOLM (and Gotland).
Translated by Alice Menzies.
This is one of my top reads so far this year. It is a very competently and maturely told story that examines the widening cracks in Bea and Nicklas’ marriage. It is told from the POV of each partner so that we have insight into their individual lives and how they perceive the crumbling status quo. They have twin girls, who are 16 years old and they live in a comfortable flat in Banérgatan.
As the story unfolds, the author is gifted at setting their psychological backstories in context, so that as things unravel there is informed understanding of how the individuals at the heart of this story process the situation.
Bea’s parents, although still alive, are emotionally distant and she revels in the fact that Niklas’ warm family has welcomed her into their fold. At every opportunity they decamp to the family house in Gotland, where she thrives. Niklas is a paedriatic doctor in one of the bigger hospitals and finds himself stifled by his life choice and the drudge of each day – having to earn the money to support their lifestyle. It is at the point of installation of a new kitchen that things come to a head for him. This is something Bea has longed for but all Nicklas can see are the Kroner the undertaking will cost, and his lack of enthusiasm is deeply annoying to Bea. Conversely, Niklas finds her constant demands enervating, and so he goes for interminable runs to clear his head, despite adding wear and tear to his knee problems.
One of the unifying factors for the couple was the death of Jacob, Bea’s brother. Niklas was a friend – of sorts, it transpires – and the shared trauma partly underpinned their relationship in the early days. Now the two struggle to manage a sense of connection and one day Niklas just leaves and doesn’t come back and refuses to answer her calls. It is a very abrupt change in his personality and his ghosting of her is unfathomable and cowardly and yet he can find no other way to make a statement about how he feels.
This is a meticulously observed portrayal of a failing marriage. The two sides jostle for the reader’s attention but it is clear there is no one ‘version’ of the truth – which, of course, is always the case. She has placed Bea in the role of critical parent (see Transactional Analysis for more information), countered by Niklas’ Adaptive Child, yearning as he is to be more of a Free Child, yearning to free himself of much of his responsibility.
The Christmas gathering at the end is a very interesting depiction of boundaries and inclusion/exclusion and poor decision making.
This novel was really very engaging, very well written and thought-out account and the translation is excellent – no hint of the original language chuntering on in the background. The book cover is eye-catching and would certainly draw me to look at this novel in more depth in a bookshop. Stockholm will be very recognisable to those who know it.
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