The Gravity of Love

When Jimmie Darling is admitted to Beckomberga psychiatric hospital outside Stockholm, his daughter Jackie starts spending more and more time there. And when her mother leaves for a holiday by the Black Sea, the hospital becomes her whole world.

The doctor in charge is Edvard Winterson, who is not adverse to taking his patients out for night on the town: "A night outside the hospital walls will make you human again," he insists to his charges.

At the hospital Jackie also meets Inger Vogel, an "angelic nurse in clogs" who seems to inhabit a twilight zone between order and devastation, and Sabina, a patient who beguiles both Jimmie and Dr Winterson, with her beads, her archery and her obsession with freedom and death.

In Sara Stridsberg's breathtakingly beautiful novel, the psychiatric hospital, set in a lovely park close to a lake, takes on near-mythic dimensions, both as an avenging angel and as a redeemer of lost souls.

“As a critic, it is hard for me to find the words to describe Stridsberg's prose . . . It is pure bliss - PolitikenA beautiful novel. It is beautiful because its metallic colours gleam like tinsel in the language, like silver foil wrapped around a piece of hashish - Dagens NyheterWith The Gravity of Love Stridsberg consolidates her place among the best contemporary writers in Sweden - Svenska DagbladetAnyone who is not captivated by this novel must lack a deeper appreciation of linguistic excellence and very likely has a heart of stone - Arbetarbladetwithout a doubt one of the most convincing and captivating novels of the year. It will continue to live inside of me for a long time - Helsingborgs Dagblad”

As a critic, it is hard for me to find the words to describe Stridsberg's prose . . . It is pure bliss - Politiken

A beautiful novel. It is beautiful because its metallic colours gleam like tinsel in the language, like silver foil wrapped around a piece of hashish - Dagens Nyheter

With The Gravity of Love Stridsberg consolidates her place among the best contemporary writers in Sweden - Svenska Dagbladet

Anyone who is not captivated by this novel must lack a deeper appreciation of linguistic excellence and very likely has a heart of stone - Arbetarbladet

without a doubt one of the most convincing and captivating novels of the year. It will continue to live inside of me for a long time - Helsingborgs Dagblad

Sara Stridsberg, born in 1972, is a writer and playwright. Her first novelHappy Sally was published in 2004, and her break-through came two years later with the publication of The Faculty of Dreams, her second novel. Her latest novel, Darling River, was published in 2010. In addition to several, important prizes (see below) she has been shortlisted to the prestigious August Prize three times, most recently. in 2012 for her collection of plays, Medealand and other plays. Sara Stridsberg lives in Stockholm.

When Jimmie Darling is admitted to Beckomberga psychiatric hospital outside Stockholm, his daughter Jackie starts spending more and more time there. And when her mother leaves for a holiday by the Black Sea, the hospital becomes her whole world.The doctor in charge is Edvard Winterson, who is not adverse to taking his patients out for night on the town: "A night outside the hospital walls will make you human again," he insists to his charges.At the hospital Jackie also meets Inger Vogel, an "angelic nurse in clogs" who seems to inhabit a twilight zone between order and devastation, and Sabina, a patient who beguiles both Jimmie and Dr Winterson, with her beads, her archery and her obsession with freedom and death.In Sara Stridsberg's breathtakingly beautiful novel, the psychiatric hospital, set in a lovely park close to a lake, takes on near-mythic dimensions, both as an avenging angel and as a redeemer of lost souls.

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