Editor:
Deborah Bragan-Turner
E-mail: 
Review
Maria Ernestam,
Marionetternas döttrar
(Daughters of the Marionettes)
Forum, 2012.
Reviewed by Deborah Bragan-Turner in SBR 2014:1
Review Section: Fiction, Light-Hearted and More Serious
Maria Ernestam had a career as a journalist before her first novel came out in 2005. Since then she has published an impressive list of short stories and novels, of which the latest is Marionetternas döttrar, her sixth novel.
The action takes place in a small village on the west coast of Sweden, a world where unsolved murder, suspicious foreigners and malevolent acts of vandalism contribute to an atmosphere heavy with mystery and suspense. The book begins in the 1980s, as eleven-yearold Mariana makes a horrific discovery, which plunges the reader immediately into a tale of secrecy and superstition. The narrative moves back and forth between events surrounding World War II and the present, as they touch on the lives of the villagers. At the centre of the story are three sisters, a toyshop and a carousel – and a search for the truth about things that happened to their father many years before.
Ernestam is known as a writer who uses psychological drama in her fiction, and Marionetternas döttrardoes not disappoint. The intriguing plot interweaves love and jealousy, trust and deceit, reality and fantasy and musters a colourful cast of characters, who carry the baggage of their lives – and those of their forbears – with them in the twists and turns of unexpected developments. Storytelling is an important motif in this book, which has elements of a fairy tale itself; the adult Mariana tells stories to the enchanted schoolchildren, sometimes with unfortunate consequences, and the arrival of a foreigner who has come to write a book prompts the unravelling of the truth, which he too explains in the form of a story.
But as puppets enact scenes that reflect the real lives of those who watch them, their seemingly innocent actions reveal an undercurrent of hatred and inhumanity in this small village. The uncomfortable contrast between the blameless lives of the three sisters, who come from a family of travelling people, and the violent resentment of a few of the villagers towards such outsiders, permeates much of this book.
Many of Mariana’s thoughts are conveyed through the emails she writes to her estranged husband in the USA and to her lover in Germany. In one message, she compares her puppetry to commedia dell’arte and remarks that ‘Everyone is fascinated by people who transcend borders.’ It is a fascination that sometimes leads people to do things they don’t want to do.
The story is a captivating one, and the reader is swept along in a desire to know what happens next. The outcome may not be entirely unexpected, but the path that leads to it is full of surprises.
Other reviews by Deborah Bragan-Turner
- Anne Swärd, Vera (Vera). Reviewed in SBR 2018:1.
- Peter Sandström, Laudatur (Autumn Apples). Reviewed in SBR 2017:2.
- Madeleine Hessérus, Elefantens fot (The Elephant's Foot). Reviewed in SBR 2017:1.
- Emma Ångström, Mannen mellan väggarna (The Man in the Wall). Reviewed in SBR 2016:2.
- Karin Johannisson, Den sårade divan: om psykets estetik (The Wounded Diva: On the Aesthetics of the Psyche). Reviewed in SBR 2016:1.
- Kristina Sandberg, Att föda ett barn (Giving Birth). Reviewed in SBR 2015:2.
- Kristina Sandberg, Liv till varje pris (Life at Any Price). Reviewed in SBR 2015:2.
- Kristina Sandberg, Sörja för de sina (Care for One's Own). Reviewed in SBR 2015:2.
- Sofia Nordin, Atomer (Atoms). Reviewed in SBR 2015:1.
- Carin Bartosch Edström, Kassandra (Cassandra). Reviewed in SBR 2014:2.
- Anna-Karin Palm, Snöängel (Snow Angel). Reviewed in SBR 2012:1.
Other reviews in SBR 2014:1
- Katarina Frostenson, Tre Vägar (Three Routes). Reviewed by Anna Tebelius.
- Ulf Karol Olov Nilsson, ? [Frågetecken] (? [Question Mark]). Reviewed by Anna Tebelius.
- Athena Farrokzhad, Vitsvit (White Suite). Reviewed by Nichola Smalley.
- Bea Uusma, Expeditionen: Min kärlekshistoria (The Expedition: My Love Story). Reviewed by Kristina Sjögren.
- Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, 438 Dagar (438 Days). Reviewed by Jan Teeland.
- Alexandra Pascalidou, Kaos: Ett grekiskt krislexikon (Chaos: A Greek Crisis Lexicon). Reviewed by Darcy Hurford.
- Herman Lindqvist, När Finland var Sverige (When Finland Was Sweden). Reviewed by John Gilmour.
- Martin Kellerman, Rocky fejsar demonerna (Rocky Faces Up to the Demons). Reviewed by Željka Černok.
- Thomas Bodström, Populisten (The Populist). Reviewed by Henning Koch.
- Katarina Bivald, Läsarna i Broken Wheel rekommenderar (Readers in Broken Wheel Recommend). Reviewed by Anna Paterson.
- Jonas Jonasson, Analfabeten som kunde räkna (The Illiterate Who Could Count). Reviewed by Kevin Halliwell.
- Lena Einhorn, Blekingegatan 32 (32, Blekinge Street). Reviewed by Tuva Tod.
- Bodil Malmsten, Och ett skepp med sju segel och femti kanoner ska försvinna med mig (And a Ship with Seven Sails and Fifty Cannons Will Disappear with Me). Reviewed by Sarah Death.
- Sanna Tahvanainen, Bär den som en krona (Wear It Like a Crown). Reviewed by Eric Dickens.
- Hanna Nordenhök, Det vita huset i Simpang (The White House in Simpang). Reviewed by Janny Middelbeek-Oortgiesen.
- Carl-Henning Wijkmark, Vi ses igen i nästra dröm (We'll Meet Again in the Next Dream). Reviewed by Tom Geddes.
- Niklas Rådström, Boken (The Book). Reviewed by Anna Paterson.
- Gabriella Håkansson, Aldermanns arvinge (Aldermann's Heir). Reviewed by Fiona Graham.
- Joakim Pirinen, Den röda drömmen (The Red Dream). Reviewed by Dominic Hinde.
- Ewa Christina Johansson and Kristina Sjögren, Sista resan (The Last Journey). Reviewed by Helena Forsås-Scott.
- Ewa Christina Johansson and Kristina Sjögren, Svag is (Thin Ice). Reviewed by Helena Forsås-Scott.
- Ewa Christina Johansson and Kristina Sjögren, Mörkt svek (Dark Betrayal). Reviewed by Helena Forsås-Scott.
- Sara Kadefors, Lex bok (Lex's Book). Reviewed by Mia Österlund.
- Katarina von Bredow, Du & jag (You and Me). Reviewed by Mia Österlund.
- Ingrid Olsson, Fulast i världen (Ugliest in the World). Reviewed by Mia Österlund.
- Johan Egerkrans, Nordiska väsen (Nordic Wraiths). Reviewed by Agnes Broome.
Current Issue: 2018:1
- Göran Bergengren, The Tree Sparrow: Reflections and Facts About a Familiar Bird
- Therése Söderlind, from The Road to Fire Mountain
- Jonas Gren, from The Land Survey
- Elin Olofsson, from Entangled
- Ann-Helén Laestadius, from Ten Past One
- Fiona Graham, Elisabeth Åsbrink on 1947: When Now Begins
- Ian Giles, More Than Three Per Cent: A New Look at the Statistics
- Bookshelf, edited by Fiona Graham
- Just Out and Coming Up