Bea and Niklas live a comfortable life in Stockholm together with their two daughters. But in the aftermath of a rather trivial argument, Niklas walks out. Bea is confident that he will be back any moment once he has cleared his head and calmed down. But the hours and days go by and Niklas does not return home. 
Bea feels infuriated – this is no way to behave after such a long life together, they have been pretty much inseparable since they were teenagers. Just because he is going through a mid-life crisis it should not be allowed to affect their holiday plans and she takes the girls and travels to Niklas’ family ‘s summer house on Gotland. This is a spot where she and the children feel secure and at ease and Niklas’ parents and siblings help bring a sense of normality. 

When it is revealed that Niklas has met another woman, everything is brought to a head. This is not only a mid-life crisis; therapy will not make a difference. Niklas is not interested in finding a solution, he wants a divorce.
The divorce prompts profound questions. Was it honestly that much of a surprise? Were there really no signs at all? Is the one who leaves always the one to blame? 

In The Divorce, Moa Herngren gives us another masterful portrayal of the taboos that exist in many relationships and the emotions which we sometimes avoid bringing up to the surface. By allowing both Bea and Niklas to give their version of the events, the reader is presented with two very different perspectives. Herngren pinpoints how situations can be interpreted so dramatically different and how small everyday events can grow into impossible obstacles. 
 

SHORTLISTED FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022