Quicksand: A Novel

Originally titled Störst av allt and published in English as Quicksand, this psychological courtroom thriller follows Maja, a teenage defendant after a shooting at an elite school outside Stockholm, and examines love, class, guilt, and the function of justice through her first-person account.

courtroom thrillerschool shootingclassguiltunreliable narration

Amazon 楽天 Yahoo!

Work Information

In the courtroom after a school shooting, a girl's memory and narration gradually alter the shape of the truth.

This crime novel by Malin Persson Giolito was first published in Swedish by Wahlström & Widstrand in 2016. Rachel Willson-Broyles's English translation appeared from Other Press as Quicksand. It won the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy award for best Swedish crime novel in 2016 and the Glass Key in 2017, and was later adapted by Netflix.

Review Summaries

The novel is valued less for the outward shock of the case than for drawing readers into the defendant's mind and the class distortions around her. Its strength lies in sustaining unease through unstable narration rather than rushing to the truth.

Book Information

Publisher: Other Press
Published: 2017-03-07
Pages: 512 pages
Language: 英語
Size: 14.48 x 3.05 x 21.59 cm
ISBN-13: 9781590518571
ISBN-10: 1590518578
Price: 5326 JPY
Category: 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Thrillers/Psychological & Suspense

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES Named an NPR "BEST BOOKS OF 2017" Named the Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year by the Swedish Crime Writers Academy An incisive courtroom thriller and a drama that raises questions about the nature of love, the disastrous side effects of guilt, and the function of justice A mass shooting has taken place at a prep school in Stockholm’s wealthiest suburb. Eighteen-year-old Maja Norberg is charged for her involvement in the massacre that left her boyfriend and her best friend dead. She has spent nine months in jail awaiting trial. Now the time has come for her to enter the courtroom. How did Maja—popular, privileged, and a top student—become a cold-blooded killer in the eyes of the public? What did Maja do? Or is it what she failed to do that brought her here? Malin Persson Giolito has written a perceptive portrayal of a teenage girl and a blistering indictment of a society that is coming apart. A work of great literary sensibility, Quicksand touches on wealth, class, immigration, and the games children play among themselves when parents are no longer attuned to their struggles.

Malin Persson Giolito was born in Stockholm in 1969, and grew up in Djursholm, Sweden. She holds a degree in law from Uppsala University and has worked as a lawyer for the biggest law firm in the Nordic region and as an official for the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. She is now a full-time writer and has written four novels including Quicksand , her English debut. Persson Giolito lives with her husband and three daughters in Brussels.

Reviews

Best thriller drama this year so far

Quicksand is a both a page turner, and a sophisticated, socially relevant story. It's about closed systems like exclusive schools or ethnic neighborhoods -- and it's about the misunderstandings when these overlap. It's about how quickly women can sink into a relationship that's like quicksand, and it drowns them, and eveyone around them. It is told in first person by an eighteen-year old woman who sees the world around her with mature eyes, and yet a part of her is still immature, younger than her years. Her life and her classmates lives are linked forever when she closes the classroom door and walks into a school shooting and into the legal system. It's not a cookie cutter story; it's fresh. The writing is clear. It doesn't show off, it's good writing. The translation has to be better than average because the story was told so well. I started the Netflix movie Quicksand but decided to read the book first; Im glad I did. It's a thoughful book that I wouldn't have wanted to miss reading. I found interesting interviews with the author. I'll be waiting for the her next book.
Fascinating

A fascinating look at a teenage girl who is accused of being complicit in a mass shooting at her school. Part of the book covers her time in jail awaiting trial and then the trial. The book also looks at the events that led up to the shooting. Even though she admitted having taken part, I was still rooting for her.
Quicksand: A Novel

Assisti á série Quicksand na Netflix e interessei-me pelo livro que lhe deu origem. Lê-lo foi um prazer e a forma de escrever da autora, com uma ironia às vezes cortante, e com uma análise inteligente do meio social sueco, de classe média alta, onde os personagens principais se movem, a meu ver mostra que ela conseguiu dar profundidade a eles e ao tema abordado. Recomendo a leitura.
gut und schnell

gut und schnell
Ligero y entretenido

La obra es fácil de digerir, empatizas con el personaje principal. La última parte deja de profundizar. Es un buen libro para el fin de semana.