A review by reverie_and_books
The Trio by Johanna Hedman

emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“Thriving while the world is going under?” 

This novel is told in two timelines by two characters, Hugo and Thora. Together with August they form a trio, a sometimes more and sometimes less complicated relationship. 

“It was strange how the world both shrank and expanded in the company of Thora and August. I felt more alive with them, even as I realized how starved I'd been before I met them - ignorant and starved of beauty.” 

Two things stand out for me in this novel: Number one: the needed hypocrisy to live in this world is shown quite vividly, especially regarding the working part of life as well as the feeling of utter uncertainty regarding the state of this world. 

“I wondered if knowing what was going on in the world was worth anything if all it produced was theorizing and opining in bars and cafés. […] The constant uncertainty was like standing in rapid waters, trying to steady myself on the sand which moved just as much as I did” 

Number two: Hugo is a very insecure person. He keeps a distance, to August and Thora as well as to the reader. Some reviewers write how annoyed they are with Hugo, how much they wished he would act differently (and how that affected their reading experience, taking their rating down a star or two). I understand. At the same time I think he is a well written person with social anxiety. The despair his distance can evoke in others is well written, too. It’s not uncommon, either. 

“The Trio” by Johanna Hedman, translated by Kira Josefsson 
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