A Nearly Normal Family
by
M. T. Edvardsson
translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Aus
Publication date: 25th June 2019
Pages: 480
RRP: $29.99AUD
Format read: paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
Nineteen-year-old Stella stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him?
Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them?
A
Nearly Normal Family is a twisty tale of deception and lies. Set in Lund,
Sweden it is a gripping legal drama written in the Nordic Noir tradition.
Stella
Sandell is accused of murder and as she sits in a cell awaiting trial her
parents fumble, lie, take matters into their own hands, quarrel and fall apart.
But mostly they question themselves. Did their parenting lead to this day?
The
story is told in three parts giving the point of view of the father, a pastor,
the mother, a defense attorney and the daughter, Stella.
The
father: he will do anything to save his daughter, maybe even lie. Throughout he
questions himself. Was he a good father? Did he do enough for Stella? Did he do
too much?
I
found the father’s narration a bit long and slow. He was so deeply concerned
with what people would think and how he’d failed. He was worn down by cares and
moral dilemmas.
Stella:
Stella’s story is told in alternating present tense, in jail, and past tense,
what led up to her arrest. Stella had such a commanding voice in the story and
I really became to feel for her and understand her. She had a compulsion for
action that she couldn’t control.
The
mother: we don’t get much insight into the mother before this and she comes
across as bitter and distant. Her part of the story is mainly the court case
which is very intense and dramatic.
Edvardsson
has used some very clever plotting feeding out small, disjointed pieces of
information causing the reader to make their own assumptions by filling in the
gaps. This had me changing my opinion again and again. The mystery kept me
enthralled and I never guessed the twists upon twists. I was quite shocked by
the ending.
Recommended
for readers of family dramas and legal dramas.
A
special mention to Rachel Willson-Broyles for such a smooth, faultless
translation.
🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2
Content: Minimal coarse language
mentions of rape
 |
| Photo credit: Goodreads |
M. T. Edvardsson is a writer and teacher from Trelleborg, Sweden.
He is the author of three previous novels and two books for young readers. Edvardsson lives with his family in Löddeköpinge, Sweden.
