Novel of obsession and imagined shape shifting set mainly in MADRID

16th September 2024

The Group by Sigge Eklund, a novel of obsession and imagined shape-shifting set mainly in MADRID.

TR: Rachel Wilson-Broyles

As a reader, you would be hard-pressed to discover that name of the translator. The translator’s name is only mentioned in small script on the inside flap (together with a small copyright mention) and that is disappointing given there is a real move on Social Media promoting the hashtag #namethetranslator. I thought, at first, that Swedish author Sigge Eklund was gifted at writing in English…

I was first attracted to this novel by the cover. Those colours and that composition (and yes, I can be seduced by a good book cover). I was also heading for Spain, where the novel is set – mainly in Madrid but it also features side trips to València and Alicante, and I know all three places very well, so what a treat this was going to be.

Hanna has decamped from Sweden and has taken up a post as an intern working on cataloguing at the Prado, in the deep and dusty basement (the author at the end does state that the archives of the Prado are, in fact, not underground, this is an invention on his part). She is out and about in the city and she espies a close-knit group of three young people – Samuel, Tom and Leah and she determines to become part of their group. They are clearly wealthy, she is almost destitute – given her background and poor wages – so already she has set herself a very difficult task of assimilating.

But inveigle herself she does and soon they are all hanging out together. Through the storytelling there is an uncomfortable sense that she is quite the leach but the three don’t really pick up on this until much later.

By chance, she discovers a drawing by a famous artist, which has been mis-filed, and with cunning and subterfuge she decides she can smuggle it out and sell it for a very good sum to a dodgy dealer. This will enable her to feel on a financial par with the group members and slide further into their sphere.

Of course things do not quite go to plan, although an outing in a very classy car down to València and on to Alicante ensues, with the final stop at Eden Roc (not the one in the South of France but an upmarket joint in the Costa Brava). A proposed purchase of a rather run-down but alluring property with incredible potential is just one part of the adventure.

As a point of reference, there are nods to grifter Tom Ridley, but Elizabeth Highsmith sets her bar very high; Saltburn is also channelled. The characters here, however, aren’t fully honed and the stilted dialogue doesn’t really flow, it is staccato and characters feel as though they are on repeat. I did get through the novel, the writing style is engaging and the narrative moves along at a fairly brisk pace but given the storyline, it can feel a little dry. Factor in a few delirious drug-infused encounters, some cock and bull fighting (probably a bit gratuitous but serves to underline Hanna’s venal nature, she seemingly balks at very little) and you have a weaselly woman, who doesn’t seem very bright, trying to outwit the moneyed classes. Her grit and determination are laudable and as the book concludes it is interesting to see who has the last laugh.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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