The fourth novel by the Swedish writer Amanda Svensson (1987) guarantees many hours of entertainment. Troubled family relationships, passionate relationships, frustrated ambitions and neuroses predominate. The main characters, the triplets Sebastian, Clara and Matilda, have each gone their own way. Sebastiaan works as a psychologist at a curious scientific institute in London, Clara joins a sect on Easter Island after her dismissal as a journalist and Matilda tries to find her way as a stepmother in Berlin. They all struggle with psychological problems, partly because one of them was switched at birth. Did Sebastian accidentally marry his switched sister, who is anorexic and killed herself? Or is it the capricious Matilda, who plunges into a lesbian relationship?
This novel reads like a wonderful soap opera. Yet it never becomes cliché. The plot twists are original, the characters intriguing and the tone sparkling. In the end, all the puzzle pieces ingeniously fall into place. To quote the title, the author creates a magnificent and true universe. If you don’t know what binge reading is, you should try this book.
Amanda Svensson: A system so magnificent it blinds. Translated from Swedish by Kim Liebrand. World Library; € 24.99.
