Book
Collected works : a novel / Lydia Sandgren ; translated by Agnes Broome.
"Collected Works is a family saga following unsuccessful book publisher Martin Berg, who must confront life's banality in the aftermath of his wife's disappearance. Meanwhile, Martin's daughter Rakel finds a clue to her mother's whereabouts"-- Provided by publisher.
Several years after the disappearance of his wife Cecilia, Martin Berg is tumbling into a life crisis. The owner of an ailing Swedish publishing house, he's left wondering what could have been. Meanwhile, Martin's old and much more remarkable friend, the artist Gustav Becker, is visiting Gothenburg, plastering billboards across the city that feature the eyes of his greatest muse, Cecilia Berg. Feeling out of place and restless in the city, Martin's daughter Rakel finds a possible clue to her mother's fate and her world begins to unravel. A family saga of several generations, Collected Works is a story about enduring love, absence, friendship, and art in the intersection of truth and fiction.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781662601514 (hardcover)
- ISBN: 1662601514 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 593 pages ; 24 cm.
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Astra House, [2023]
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Publishers and publishing > Fiction. Missing persons > Fiction. Families > Fiction. Mothers and daughters > Fiction. Friendship > Fiction. |
| Genre: | Domestic fiction. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Kenton County.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show All Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Branch | SANDG L (Text) | 33126025069810 | Adult Fiction | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
"Collected Works is a family saga following unsuccessful book publisher Martin Berg, who must confront life's banality in the aftermath of his wife's disappearance. Meanwhile, Martin's daughter Rakel finds a clue to her mother's whereabouts"-- - Baker & Taylor
A head of an ailing Swedish publishing house whose wife disappeared years ago reflects on how his quiet and methodical life actually compares to the one he dreamed of in his youth. - Random House, Inc.
"A witty, toothy, family saga, unashamedly intellectual . . . that, like youth, seems to have it allâenergy, aspiration, and self-delusion." âCatherine Taylor, Financial Times
"MEET SWEDEN'S SALLY ROONEY" âThe Times of London
"A wry bestseller that reads like the effortlessly chic European cousin of Fleishman is in Trouble." âThe Telegraph of London
"Poised at the intersection of life and art, reality and imagination, [Collected Works] blends the thrill of mystery with the curiosity and depth of philosophical inquiry." âThe New Yorker
"Collected Works . . . is as insatiable in its read as it is insightful to modern challenges of family, memory, and finding purpose." âMatthew Bedard, Flaunt
"[A] sweeping and complex drama of family, art, and sacrifice . . . Readers will be captivated." âPublishers Weekly, Starred Review
"A richly evocative work from a major new talent." âKirkus Reviews, Starred Review
A compelling mystery and poignant bildungsroman for readers of Karl Ove KnausgÃ¥rd, Collected Works is a novel about love, power, and artâand what leads us to make the pivotal decisions that change the course of our lives.
Martin Bergâs wife, Cecilia, disappeared years ago. His memories of their carefree college days seem ever out of reach, and the intellectual curiosities that once made him the object of her desire have given way to midlife uncertainty. The methodical and quiet life heâs made for himself and his adult children couldnât be further from the one he dreamed of in his youth, when the manuscripts lying around his apartment were flush with promise and his ailing publishing house was still new.
Perhaps nothing reminds Martin of these failures more than his friend Gustav Becker, a wildly successful painter whoâs returned to Gothenburg on the eve of his career-defining retrospective. Gustav, meanwhile, is hurting too. His obsession with Ceciliaâs inexplicable disappearance had made his art hagiographic, fixated on her image. When posters for Gustavâs retrospective plaster Ceciliaâs face on major billboards across the city, Martinâs daughter Rakel learns a haunting fact that points toward her motherâs whereabouts. She and her brother chase this clue across time, memory, and Europe to discover why Cecilia abandoned her family, with the imagined hope that the question of what makes a person leave can ever be answered.
Collected Works, a major hit in Sweden, sold over 100,000 copies in its first year in print, instantly making Lydia Sandgren a literary sensation. Winner of the 2020 August Prize for Fiction, the novel is set to publish in 17 territories.