Malaren

by N.E. David

Alan Harrison is a perfectly ordinary, middle-class, middle-aged and happily married man. But when his wife, Susan, suddenly dies, his life starts to disintegrate. Rather than stay at home where the memory of his wife still haunts him, he decides to spend the summer in Sweden at the invitation of his in-laws. On the shores of Lake Malaren, he discovers fresh reasons for living and a contentment he had not previously thought possible. But unexpected guests arrive to disturb his new-found peace and he is forced to take unprecedented steps to recover it. Set against a backdrop of stunning Swedish scenery, MALAREN shows us the redemptive power of physical labour and male bonding as an unlikely hero struggles to overcome his challenges.

296 pages, Paperback

Published November 25, 2016

About the author

N.E.David is my pen name but most people know me as Nick. I tried writing earlier in life but it didn't work out first time round. Older (and presumably wiser) I've taken it up again and had initial success with a series of short novellas. My debut novel, Birds of the Nile, was published by Roundfire in 2013 and quickly became their top-selling title in adult fiction. My second novel, The Burden, came out in April.

I write contemporary fiction and focus on stories of human interest and drama. I'm fascinated by human behaviour and my work attempts to answer the question Why do we act as we do? I have no overt personal or political message to convey but my initial objective is to entertain the reader and I hope this is reflected in my writing.

Besides being a regular contributor to literary events in the North East Region, I'm a founder member of York Authors and formerly co-presented Book Talk on BBC Radio York. I've recently been appointed to the committee of York Literature Festival where I'm enjoying contributing to the literary life of the city.

Reviews

[Irena BookDustMagic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2,75

I don't read literary fiction too often, but when I do, I usually always finish a book with a thought how I have just finished the most beautiful book ever.

Really, if you look at all the books I read this year, you'll notice only few books in that genre, but when it comes to quality, they are all at the very top of my list.

I love literary fiction mainly because of the beautiful writing it is mostly famous for.
My second reason why I love it is because it explores characters on a deeper level.
Finally, my third reason is because it helps reader to improve his vocabulary.

Malaren: A Swedish Affair is a novel, pitched as piece of literary fiction that explores man's inner thoughts and one's life under stress in exceptional situations.

Honestly, when going into this story, I had no expectations whatsoever, as I haven't read any of N. E. David's work before, nor do I know anyone who read this book before me.

The only thing I can say I expected were beautiful sentences that would make me think about human's life.

I can't phraise Malaren for beautiful writing style, although I can say it had quality, especially when it comes to describing one's feelings and actions in real life situations.

However, I have to say that, to me, Malaren sounded more like a slow general fiction then literary fiction.
When I was reading, I actually asked myself if there is a genre that's a hybrid between general and literary fiction. Because if there is, Malaren would definitely belong to that category.

The story takes place in a course of 6 months.
It talks about one man's life after his wife dies.
In order to move on with his life, he goes to Sweden, in his in-laws house.

In those 6 months, I felt like almost nothing happened, and, even if literary fiction is familiar for slow pacing, this one lacked something to make it more interesting.
I didn't see any change in main character at the end of the story, excpet the one that was inevitable.

Good thing about this piece of work is that it kept me up at night as I was (not even sure why) curious if something was going to happen (already).

The novel is composed of four parts and the fourth one is the one where the story finally becomes somewhat interesting.
It has less then 300 pages, but it does not read fast.
It is written in first person.

Malaren: A Swedish Affair maybe isn't the most interesting book out there, but I think it's solid read and it would be a good choice for someone who wants to try to read literary fiction, as this one reads like a mix of two genres (general and literary fiction).

Read this and more revievs on my blog: http://bookdustmagic.wordpress.com

[Peter Bartram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death is often portrayed by authors as an ending. And for the poor person who ends up six foot under it is. But for people who knew - and perhaps loved - the person who died, death is not an ending but a new beginning. Perhaps a difficult beginning, too. It is this essential truth which lies at the heart of Nick David's new novel. David's genius as a writer is to illuminate how relationships are often founded on deep inner feelings, which sometimes even those who possess them don't recognise. Malaren opens with actuary Alan Harrison preparing for the funeral of his beloved wife Susan who has died too young. Within pages, we're introduced to a network of complex relationships such as Alan's children and in-laws - including the compulsory mother-in-law from hell. But just as you settle down to think this is going to be a redemptive long haul as Alan rebuilds his life, the story takes off in an unexpected direction. Alan is invited to Sweden, to stay with in-laws on the banks of Lake Malaren. It's hopefully not a spoiler to say that the pace of the plot quickens and that Alan turns into a person we'd never have expected from the opening pages. David's fluent writing style and apt ability to draw believable characters keep the pages - or in my case the screen refreshes - turning easily. The best Nick David yet.

[Jenny Hemming · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Malaren, it's a pacy well-written story. The early section depicting bereavement is good. Later in the book there are some puzzling leaps of logic so the plot didnt quite hang together but I still enjoyed it. The main character's depicted sense of entitlement seemed misplaced, but then again the story was told entirely from his perspective and none of us are as rational as we like to think! Perhaps some perspectives from the other players would have helped.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a really good start. The author grasps grief and loss and carries them effortlessly through the first part of the book. Then as the widowed man decides to visit Swedish relatives it almost becomes another book. It is an easy read but the whole fails to bring out the promise of the beginning

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely written with an interesting central character voice but not really my thing. I like a plot and for much of this book nothing much happens as the central character slowly moves on from extreme grief.

This is highly readable and I'm glad I took the risk but am unlikely to read many more on this genre.