How did Maj get into this, with a growing belly and a husband she hardly knows? All she wanted to do was work for a while and then perhaps move on again, maybe even to Stockholm. Behind she would leave her working-class background, her mother’s illne ...
How did Maj get into this, with a growing belly and a husband she hardly knows? All she wanted to do was work for a while and then perhaps move on again, maybe even to Stockholm. Behind she would leave her working-class background, her mother’s illness and a love affair which break-up still lingers in her memory.
Maj can feel the looks piercing her, condemning her for the crime of an unplanned pregnancy. But surely she has nothing to be ashamed of, has she? She is legally married to Tomas – considerably older and once divorced – and he is looking forward to becoming a father. But will he at all be able to be the father he wishes? Does anybode else see his drinking problems, or is it just Maj?
Time ticks on without mercy and with it Maj’s pregnancy, while she struggles to understand what her husband’s bourgeois family is expecting of her. Gradually, a decision matures within her to become the woman nobody can accuse anything of, or find any fault with. Wife, mother, hostess – she shall become flawless. Maj
struggles hard to control her life while trying to repress her worries.
Giving birth is a story about class, a troubled motherhood and alcoholism set in the 1930’s Sweden. This is the first installment of a trilogy and it was shortlisted for Swedih Radio’s Novel Award 2010.
Press voices:
“One of the most sensitive psychological realists in contemporary Swedish fiction /.../ The condensed nature of the text forms an immediate flow which the reader is sucked into without resistance. It is complex but not complicated, and it confirms Kristina Sandberg’s position as one of the most sensitive psychological
realists in contemporary Swedish fiction.” Svenska Dagbladet
“Sharp and suggestive about fate /.../ With psychological precision and a language of her own, Kristina Sandberg gives a realistic description of the everyday unhappy life of a woman.” Dagens Nyheter
“A great novel, not only size-wise but also for the thorough treatment of women’s issues and the delightful linguistic plaits.” Tidningen Kulturen
“[Kristina Sandberg’s] technique of penetrating a person’s mind is impressive.”
Aftonbladet