Summary
Jens Liljestrand: If Everything Disappears
The first novel translated into Croatian by the respected Swedish journalist and writer Jens Liljestrand deals with a moment when the world is on the very edge of a climate catastrophe. Swedish critics have compared this novel to The Road by Cormac McCarthy and the novels of Jonathan Franzen.
Wild fires caused by climate change are ravaging Swedish forests, but lives go on: marriages fall apart, teenagers fall in love, children defy their parents, identities are split.
Didrik, a media consultant, in the manner of a superhero tries to save his family in the face of a fire, but his efforts are revealed by the incompetent a man eager for media attention. Melissa, an influencer, denies the climate catastrophe and tries to continue living as before, filtering photos. André is a teenager who uses the crisis as an opportunity to take revenge on his father, and Vilja, the unexpected heroine, maturely grapples with problems.
From the perspective of these four characters, Jens Liljestrand passionately and narratively maturely writes a story about our near future that is both incredible and terrifyingly possible, leaving readers almost breathless due to the relentless pace and suffocating atmosphere as he describes a world on the brink of climate catastrophe.
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