Jag står och väger mellan en trea och en fyra, så egentligen blir det väl 3,5 i betyg. Det är inte det bästa jag läst av Alvtegen, av flera anledningar, men samtidigt uppskattar jag verkligen hennes böcker - och med biografin och skildringen av hennes sjukdom färskt i minnet så gör det att det känns en smula vemodigt att de böcker av henne som kvarstår att läsa och upptäcka minskar med en skrämmande hastighet.

Skugga tar upp det svarta inom framgången och ärelystnaden. Hur den kan sko sig och bekostas av andra och annat. Huvudpersonerna är en liten skara alkoholiserade och osympatiska män, som ägnar mycket tid åt självcentrerade tankar och åt att rättfärdiga sina missbruk och affärer. Den mest intressanta karaktären, Gerda, kunde ha fått ytterligare rum och plats.

Without wanting to appear negative, I didn’t like this book much at all.

The story starts with the abandoned young boy and quickly moves to the death of Gerda Persson. The books of Nobel Prize winner Axel Ragnerfeldt are found in the freezer and so we begin.

Straight away, the characters are really difficult to like - we have a recovering alcoholic prone to wandering off into rambling social commentary (which has no relevance to the story and seems to be a way for the author to vent her views), a privileged but completely ungrateful misogynist and his worn down wife. I couldn’t find sympathy for any of them - Gerda Persson sums it up perfectly: “…I’m content and you’re not. You’re always chasing after what you imagine you could become”. She is addressing the famous Axel himself but it could apply to all of the key characters here.

As you might have guessed, Alvtegen splits her narrative between the past and the present. I actually liked this to some extent - for example, Louise is the long-suffering wife of the borderline alcoholic and general philanderer, Jan-Erik. Through her eyes, we see general confusion at his behaviour and then we witness the actions as they happen and understand their relationship that little bit better.

However, as events pan out, this technique becomes a little worn and the story flits all over in an attempt to hastily rap everything up. And herein lies my biggest problem with this book. The “revelations” at the end of this book come thick and fast and they become rapidly more shocking. Unfortunately, not in a good way. It really is difficult to explain why I disliked this so much without massive spoilers. Let me say this: I have no problem with ‘dark’ themes in my books. What I do have a problem with are events which are so abhorrent that I can’t help but feel the story is cheapened and the author is simply employing shock tactics.

And why were the books in the freezer? I still have no idea whatsoever…

Overall: This really isn’t a “crime novel” as I would imagine them. Yes, there are crimes, but the book is more about the effects of the crimes than the acts themselves. I would only recommend this to adults who aren’t too sensitive and aren’t opposed to reading about the darker side of humanity.

The single most positive aspect of this novel is the beautifully written prose. The words seem to speak directly to the reader in a heart-touching and sometimes heart-wrenching way.
I’ll admit this is one of those novels where the cover art drew me in. Who can resist an adorable little boy?
Then I read the blurb at the back which told me that this little boy was abandoned and was somehow connected to the death thirty five years later of a 92 year old woman who had books in her freezer upon her death… That was enough to capture the attention of any bibliophile. Too old to be the boy’s mother, how could this woman be connected to him?
The novel was a mystery, but not written in the traditional way. In fact the reader does not really know what the crime(s) were until close to the end of the book. When the circumstances are revealed it left me both disturbed and profoundly moved.
Set in Stockholm, the novel followed the life and family of Axel Ragnerfeldt, a famous and Nobel Prize winning novelist. (the author of the books in the freezer). The novel poses the question: How much is glory and fame really worth, when counted in the suffering of the people closest to you? His family were portrayed with such depth and empathy that the reader felt their hopelessness. The claustrophobic family ties, mysterious disappearances and dark secrets surrounding a man shrouded in myth were portrayed with an honesty and brutality that spoke of deep understanding. The theme of how the sins of the fathers are visited upon their children is not a new one, but Alvtegen’s prose brought the theme home to me like no other book ever has. “No matter whether your action is evil or good, it spreads like rings on the water. Over vast expanses it will travel, finding ever new paths. That is why your influence is infinite, and also your guilt.”

“Shadow” is the first novel I’ve read by Karin Alvtegen and I will read as many more as I can get hold of. That being said, this novel was not exactly uplifting. In fact I would go as far as to say that anyone suffering from seasonal affective disorder should not read this book in the winter. The overall tone was bleak and melancholy. To quote the novel’s description on the author’s website, “her darkest and most complex thriller to date, in which the disturbing truth of a sick family is gradually and mercilessly laid bare. ” Highly recommended.

Shadow is a beautifully written tale of people looking for happiness. The books opens with a small boy waiting for his mother to come and get him from a shed where he is waiting. He has been waiting so long the batteries have worn out on the cassette player he has which reads him his story book. Eventually the boy is found and it appears his mother has abandoned him at an amusement park. The story then shifts to the family of a renowned author as they find out about the death of their old maid.

Don’t be fooled by this opening as I was, there are many twists and turns within this book which take the tale in directions I was not expecting. I always worry when reading a book that has been translated from its original langue, that some of the more subtle meanings may be lost. However with this book I do not feel that I lost and depth or beauty. And whilst there was nothing that stood out in the way of errors or typos the only part I feel that let it down was the ending. Personally it just felt like everything had got really going and then it was done. On the plus side it also meant nothing felt dragged out or overly fluffed.

I would definitely recommend this book and it may be liked by those who enjoyed books such as [b:Spilt Milk|18692830|Spilt Milk|Amanda Hodgkinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386845140s/18692830.jpg|26541040]or [b:Purge|11163458|Purge|Sofi Oksanen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327881261s/11163458.jpg|3426310]. I want to give it more than 3 stars but I personally need to feel more, and I always use the guidance phase and whilst I ‘liked’ it I didn’t ‘really like it’. This is in basic terms, a simple story of life and its issues with unexpected twists which test the characters in ways many people hope never to be tested by.

Halfway through the audiobook of this...it is so dreary that I don't know if I can continue. Every character is thoroughly miserable, every parent lets down their children, and every child is doomed to repeat the same mistake. The basic plot is compelling and I really want to know what happens...but can I listen to about six more hours of this? I'm not sure.