Mooie vrouwen aan het water

Diva by Monika Fagerholm is on my all time top 10 chart, but for some reason it took me several months to get into reading her first novel. I read this book in Finnish, so I don't know if the translation's good, but I can assure you that it takes some work to spoil this brilliant book. Perhaps not quite as magical as Diva, this novel is in any case a wonderful study of childhood, family relationships and changes in society. There's always some sadness in Fagerholm's world, but it's sweet sadness, very close to a certain kind of numb satisfaction. Her style is unique. Strongly recommended.

This book is written in a captivating style. It is dreamy and innocent and lets the reader make his own conclusions. It celebrates summer, imagination and childhood (most of the book is narrated through Thomas, 9 years), but in the same time it is a melancholy book. I have read the book in Finnish and I hope that the English translation is as good. I sincerely recommend Wonderful Women by the Sea.

Monika Fagerholm's first novel is a marvelous evocation of Finland in the 60s, covering two Finland-Swedish families who meet every summer at their vacation homes. A big hit in Scandinavia, this novel should be of interest to American readers as well. Fagerholm is finishing a new novel in Swedish, Diva, which should be published soon.