Jana is returning to see her twin brother Bror, still living in the small family farmhouse in the rural north of Sweden. It's decrepit and crumbling, and Bror is determinedly drinking himself to an early grave. They're both damaged by horrific childhood experiences, buried deep in the past, but Jana cannot keep running.
Alive with the brutality and beauty of the landscape, MY BROTHER is a novel steeped in darkness and violence - about abuse, love, complicity, and coming to terms with the past. It's the story of a homecoming without a home: a story of forgiveness.
Publisher: Pushkin Press
ISBN: 9781782275695
Number of pages: 320
Dimensions: 216 x 135 mm
Chinks of light appear as secrets are revealed... Well worth the read - Guardian
Original and fascinating, the best debut I've read from a Swedish writer in years - Martin Holmén, author of the Stockholm Trilogy
Bleak and beautiful rural noir - CrimeReads
From the start, there is an energy in the writing of this novel that only occasionally lets up... unfolding mysteries with miseries - Irish Times
My Brother is perfect for fans of Scandi-noir dramas - Culturefly
An exposition on human frailty and resilience, and on despair and hope... Darkly poetic - European Literature Network
This year's best novel... Brutal, colourful, carnal... Impossible to put down - Expressen
Every now and then there are debut novels that appear like crown jewels... My Brother belongs there: clever, detailed and shimmering - Svenska Dagbladet
[Karin Smirnoff] is a rare story-telling talent - Aftonbladet
[My Brother] possesses the same melodramatic power as Ferrante's The Neapolitan Novels - ETC
Secrets and lies grow thick and tall like tree trunks... [My Brother] has its own logic and its own hard, coarse beauty - Smålandposten
Karin Smirnoff's debut novel has become a media sensation... It's a remarkable novel - GP
3 - 4 rounded up.
Jana Kippo is visiting her twin brother Bror in their old family home in Smalånger in the north of Sweden. This is a darkly shocking tale as her visit causes her to examine their horrifying past....
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My Brother is a book full of difficult themes that won’t be to every reader’s taste. The crux of the story is one of child abuse, and the struggle of Jana and her twin brother Bror to rebuild their lives many years... More
Thank you to the publishers for this review copy, I think this will certainly divide it's audience - but would therefore make a good book to discuss with friends or a book group.
A family full of secrets, a...
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