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The Squeeze
Set between 1989 and the downfall of Ceaușescu, and 2013, The Squeeze travels between Edinburgh, Romania and Oslo and see this multi‑award-winning and bestselling author at the height of her powers.
Marta, a teenager trafficked from Romania in the early 1990s is forced to work as a prostitute in Edinburgh. Mats, a Norwegian businessman, who longs only to be a good husband and father, becomes involved with Marta and both their lives are wrenched – for good or ill – in new directions.
Told in a splintered narrative style that allows glimpses into several points of view, The Squeezeexplores the transactions that take place between men and women.
Sex, money and the desire for love, are at its heart.
Marta, a teenager trafficked from Romania in the early 1990s is forced to work as a prostitute in Edinburgh. Mats, a Norwegian businessman, who longs only to be a good husband and father, becomes involved with Marta and both their lives are wrenched – for good or ill – in new directions.
Told in a splintered narrative style that allows glimpses into several points of view, The Squeezeexplores the transactions that take place between men and women.
Sex, money and the desire for love, are at its heart.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2017
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Lesley Glaister
47 books401 followersNovelist Lesley Glaister was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. She grew up in Suffolk, moving to Sheffield with her first husband, where she took a degree with the Open University. She was 'discovered' by the novelist Hilary Mantel when she attended a course given by the Arvon Foundation in 1989. Mantel was so impressed by her writing that she recommended her to her own literary agent.
Lesley Glaister's first novel, Honour Thy Father (1990), won both a Somerset Maugham Award and a Betty Trask Award. Her other novels include Trick or Treat (1991), Limestone and Clay (1993), for which she was awarded the Yorkshire Post Book Award (Yorkshire Author of the Year), Partial Eclipse (1994) and The Private Parts of Women (1996), Now You See Me (2001), the story of the unlikely relationship between Lamb, a former patient in a psychiatric ward, and Doggo, a fugitive on the run from the police, As Far as You Can Go (2004), a psychological drama, in which a young couple, Graham and Cassie, travel to a remote part of Australia to take up a caretaking job, only to be drawn into the dark secrets of their mysterious employers. Nina Todd Has Gone (2007) was another complex psychological thriller. Chosen, a dark and suspenseful book about a woman trying to rescue her brother from a cult, was followed by Little Egypt in 2014. This novel - set in the 20's in Northern England and Egypt, won a Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award. Her next novel, The Squeeze, published 2017, centres on a relationship between a teenage Romanian sex-worker - a victim of trafficking - and a law-abiding, family man from Oslo. It's an unusual and (of course, twisted!) love story. Because not all love is romantic. In 2020 Blasted Things was published. This one is set just after World War 1 and is about the warping after-effects of a global war on society and on individuals. The two main characters, Clementine and Vincent, both damaged in different ways, must find their way in the post-war period. For them this results in a most peculiar kind of relationship and one that can only end in distaster.
Lesley Glaister lives with her husband in Edinburgh with frequent sojourns in Orkney. She has three sons and teaches Creative Writing at the University or St Andrews. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Lesley Glaister's first novel, Honour Thy Father (1990), won both a Somerset Maugham Award and a Betty Trask Award. Her other novels include Trick or Treat (1991), Limestone and Clay (1993), for which she was awarded the Yorkshire Post Book Award (Yorkshire Author of the Year), Partial Eclipse (1994) and The Private Parts of Women (1996), Now You See Me (2001), the story of the unlikely relationship between Lamb, a former patient in a psychiatric ward, and Doggo, a fugitive on the run from the police, As Far as You Can Go (2004), a psychological drama, in which a young couple, Graham and Cassie, travel to a remote part of Australia to take up a caretaking job, only to be drawn into the dark secrets of their mysterious employers. Nina Todd Has Gone (2007) was another complex psychological thriller. Chosen, a dark and suspenseful book about a woman trying to rescue her brother from a cult, was followed by Little Egypt in 2014. This novel - set in the 20's in Northern England and Egypt, won a Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award. Her next novel, The Squeeze, published 2017, centres on a relationship between a teenage Romanian sex-worker - a victim of trafficking - and a law-abiding, family man from Oslo. It's an unusual and (of course, twisted!) love story. Because not all love is romantic. In 2020 Blasted Things was published. This one is set just after World War 1 and is about the warping after-effects of a global war on society and on individuals. The two main characters, Clementine and Vincent, both damaged in different ways, must find their way in the post-war period. For them this results in a most peculiar kind of relationship and one that can only end in distaster.
Lesley Glaister lives with her husband in Edinburgh with frequent sojourns in Orkney. She has three sons and teaches Creative Writing at the University or St Andrews. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 3, 2023
As a romanian Im pretty upset she couldn't use some romanian names. Marta is close but milya?!?!?!?! That is not romanian at all.
Also the story was more about Mats than Marta, whats up with that? I thought it will be about her and a little about him.
RTC
Also the story was more about Mats than Marta, whats up with that? I thought it will be about her and a little about him.
RTC
August 30, 2017
I have long been a fan of Lesley Glaister’s work. Her stories are perceptive, engaging and memorable with just the right degree of humour and originality to lift the difficult subjects she explores. Thus I eagerly awaited this, her latest publication. It is perhaps unwise to approach a book with such high expectations.
The Squeeze revolves around two characters who must each find a way to survive the choices they have made. Neither can become the person they long to be and, whatever befalls, life will only ever move forwards.
Marta grew up in Romania under Ceaușescu. Her father had high hopes for his daughter but was killed just before the regime was overthrown. Instead of preparing for university, Marta works in a chemical factory and helps to care for her little sister. When a well groomed stranger starts to woo the tired and yearning teenager, she ignores the warnings and accepts his attentions. Within weeks Marta has been abducted, trafficked, and forced into prostitution in the UK.
Mats is a businessman in Oslo with a pragmatic wife, Nina, who refuses to have the child he so desires. Mats is offered a transfer to Edinburgh and Nina tells him to accept, but that she will stay where she is. Mats considers himself steady and loyal, always eager to do what is right. If those he loves do not respond in kind he feels let down.
On a drunken night out with a work colleague in Edinburgh, Marta and Mats have sex. To Marta he is just another punter but Mats is wracked by guilt. When their paths cross again Mats is seeking absolution. It will cost him dear.
From this point on I found the development of the story somewhat preposterous. The day to day life and future prospects of the sex workers are achingly evoked but Mats’ reaction to his indiscretion seemed overblown.
Although wishing to be generous and giving, Mats is weak and needy. The women in his life, drawn by his looks and gentle demeanour, become frustrated by his lack of empathy, his expectation of gratitude for unasked for efforts. He wants his new wife to fit an image he has created, becoming disappointed when she strays from this construct. He thinks longingly of Nina, unaware of how she regards him.
The reader views Mats through his wife’s eyes as she records her thoughts – therapy for post-natal depression. There is little communication in their relationship.
Marta’s friendships with the other sex workers are touched on but never fully developed. The woman she travels with, Alis, is given a voice in the narrative but remains elusive. Despite living in the brothel for years little interaction is detailed.
The denouement may be regarded as auspicious, or perhaps just another chance for Mats to set himself up for further disappointment. He appears to have learned little over the years.
A great many social attitudes and issues are packed into this story, all insightfully portrayed yet somehow lacking coherence. It is written as a novel but at times reads as a series of vignettes. Each is effectively crafted and interlinked yet missing a degree of fluidity.
The tale is easy enough to read and offers layers to unpick but is not as strong as I had expected. The characters are well drawn in their aloneness but action too often felt cumbersome. I am left dissatisfied.
The Squeeze revolves around two characters who must each find a way to survive the choices they have made. Neither can become the person they long to be and, whatever befalls, life will only ever move forwards.
Marta grew up in Romania under Ceaușescu. Her father had high hopes for his daughter but was killed just before the regime was overthrown. Instead of preparing for university, Marta works in a chemical factory and helps to care for her little sister. When a well groomed stranger starts to woo the tired and yearning teenager, she ignores the warnings and accepts his attentions. Within weeks Marta has been abducted, trafficked, and forced into prostitution in the UK.
Mats is a businessman in Oslo with a pragmatic wife, Nina, who refuses to have the child he so desires. Mats is offered a transfer to Edinburgh and Nina tells him to accept, but that she will stay where she is. Mats considers himself steady and loyal, always eager to do what is right. If those he loves do not respond in kind he feels let down.
On a drunken night out with a work colleague in Edinburgh, Marta and Mats have sex. To Marta he is just another punter but Mats is wracked by guilt. When their paths cross again Mats is seeking absolution. It will cost him dear.
From this point on I found the development of the story somewhat preposterous. The day to day life and future prospects of the sex workers are achingly evoked but Mats’ reaction to his indiscretion seemed overblown.
Although wishing to be generous and giving, Mats is weak and needy. The women in his life, drawn by his looks and gentle demeanour, become frustrated by his lack of empathy, his expectation of gratitude for unasked for efforts. He wants his new wife to fit an image he has created, becoming disappointed when she strays from this construct. He thinks longingly of Nina, unaware of how she regards him.
The reader views Mats through his wife’s eyes as she records her thoughts – therapy for post-natal depression. There is little communication in their relationship.
Marta’s friendships with the other sex workers are touched on but never fully developed. The woman she travels with, Alis, is given a voice in the narrative but remains elusive. Despite living in the brothel for years little interaction is detailed.
The denouement may be regarded as auspicious, or perhaps just another chance for Mats to set himself up for further disappointment. He appears to have learned little over the years.
A great many social attitudes and issues are packed into this story, all insightfully portrayed yet somehow lacking coherence. It is written as a novel but at times reads as a series of vignettes. Each is effectively crafted and interlinked yet missing a degree of fluidity.
The tale is easy enough to read and offers layers to unpick but is not as strong as I had expected. The characters are well drawn in their aloneness but action too often felt cumbersome. I am left dissatisfied.
August 16, 2017
I have read all of Lesley Glaister's novels and always look forward to her next. There's not a disappointing one in the bunch, and I found "The Squeeze" to be among her best.
There is usually a crime somewhere in the plot which, I suppose, justifies the fact that I discovered her, on publication of her second novel, from a recommendation in a catalog from a mystery bookshop. Her books are definitely not mysteries or genre fiction but explorations into the hearts and minds of her characters, of all of us. She is foremost a storyteller, and she always provides a strong plot filled with tension. As with all of her novels, I continue to feel the impact long after I've finished the book.
"The Squeeze" as well as all of Lesley Glaister novels gets my most enthusiastic recommendation. It makes no sense that she's not better known. She is always a pleasure to read as she takes her reader on a thought provoking journey.
There is usually a crime somewhere in the plot which, I suppose, justifies the fact that I discovered her, on publication of her second novel, from a recommendation in a catalog from a mystery bookshop. Her books are definitely not mysteries or genre fiction but explorations into the hearts and minds of her characters, of all of us. She is foremost a storyteller, and she always provides a strong plot filled with tension. As with all of her novels, I continue to feel the impact long after I've finished the book.
"The Squeeze" as well as all of Lesley Glaister novels gets my most enthusiastic recommendation. It makes no sense that she's not better known. She is always a pleasure to read as she takes her reader on a thought provoking journey.
September 8, 2017
I am a great admirer of Lesley Glaister's work and have read almost all her novels. She chooses to engage with difficult and controversial issues in her work such as abuse, mental health and dementia and this new novel is no exception. In the Squeeze she tackles the issue of trafficking and childcare and examines the choices we make in order to get our needs met. This novel also painfully examines the consequences of individual choices.
This novel is thematically interesting and shocking and contains some very uncomfortable material but somehow in the course of the book the material runs away a bit from the plot structure and gallops to a rather unsatisfactory close..
This novel is thematically interesting and shocking and contains some very uncomfortable material but somehow in the course of the book the material runs away a bit from the plot structure and gallops to a rather unsatisfactory close..
January 9, 2018
A wonderful read as are all her books. The psychological undercurrents are fantastic as in all her books. I recommend this for those whose eyes race through the story line while the brain wants to dwell. It lingers on after....
February 19, 2018
This book was excellent- the story was quite difficult to read and sad, but the writing, as ever, is outstanding. Loved it!
September 12, 2017
I just finished The Squeeze - what a ride!
This is a massively enjoyable book. The plot twists and turns and the tension stays high so you are always wanting to read 'just one more chapter'. The characters are fascinating and you see from lots of different viewpoints which means it never gets boring. I particularly like the funny little Artie and the weirdly prim and proper Nina. Glaister is a real talent - her writing is really easy to engage with but with some beautiful (and sometimes-scary), fascinating images and descriptions. I got a really good sense of Romania as a country. Highly recommended if you like a page-turner with more substance than most.
This is a massively enjoyable book. The plot twists and turns and the tension stays high so you are always wanting to read 'just one more chapter'. The characters are fascinating and you see from lots of different viewpoints which means it never gets boring. I particularly like the funny little Artie and the weirdly prim and proper Nina. Glaister is a real talent - her writing is really easy to engage with but with some beautiful (and sometimes-scary), fascinating images and descriptions. I got a really good sense of Romania as a country. Highly recommended if you like a page-turner with more substance than most.
September 16, 2019
t took me longer than it ought to understand that ending the day with a couple or so chapters from this was a BAD idea. So vivid and involving were the characters' situations, so painfully horrible their lives and stressful the ever-rising tension, that I invariably lay awake worrying rather than sinking into sleep.
Which was not to say the whole of it was anything less than an excellent read (as per usual) and the ending fitting with uniqueness of the individual characters.
Which was not to say the whole of it was anything less than an excellent read (as per usual) and the ending fitting with uniqueness of the individual characters.
August 22, 2017
While The Squeeze has all the elements of a cracking read – fine writing, convincing characters, social relevance and enough jeopardy to keep those pages turning – I couldn’t, at the end, make up my mind what I made of it as a whole.
Full review coming soon to http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdo...
Full review coming soon to http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdo...
December 17, 2021
I'm a fan of Lesley Glaister but this novel despite having an interesting plot line, didn't quite do it for me. I found the protagonist Mats weak and very irritating and as the novel progressed less and less believable. Having said that I did finish it so there was sufficient engagement to keep me going but I was very glad when it was over.
July 4, 2024
Marta is a Romanian and has been trafficked for sex to Edinburgh.
Mats lives and works in Edinburgh. He's Norwegian and married to Nina.
When their lives collide, the repurcussions are large and long-lasting.
An OK read but not her best by a long chalk. It was riddled with typos which put me off.
Mats lives and works in Edinburgh. He's Norwegian and married to Nina.
When their lives collide, the repurcussions are large and long-lasting.
An OK read but not her best by a long chalk. It was riddled with typos which put me off.
June 1, 2019
It's a heartbreaking story that is the unfortunate reality for millions of women across the world. Unfortunately, despite the important story this tells I found I did not connect to the characters. I felt compelled to read it but at the same time I didn't want to.
July 13, 2020
This book was like watching a ballet. Beautiful
December 15, 2020
The premise was good but the story didn’t really go anywhere. The research of post Communism Romania was lazy too. The characters were not likeable. I was glad this was short.
January 21, 2019
Setting: Romania & UK; 1989-92 & 2005. The main topic of this novel is the disturbing world of sex trafficking - how girls from Eastern Europe and other countries are hoodwinked or merely kidnapped, then smuggled into the UK to be used and abused for prostitution. Told from several different points of view, including Marta, a kidnapped Romanian teenager, this is never a comfortable read and the tension is maintained throughout. One of the main characters is Mats, a Norwegian who moves to Edinburgh with his work and, in an effort to fit in with one of his bosses from New York, ends up in the brothel where Marta has been forced to work. Disgusted by his own actions, Mats tries to make things right for Marta.....
This is my tenth Lesley Glaister novel and in my opinion is one of the better ones. A disturbing but current story is well-written with good characterisation and I thought it fitting that the ending was redemptive without being too tidily wrapped up. 9/10.
This is my tenth Lesley Glaister novel and in my opinion is one of the better ones. A disturbing but current story is well-written with good characterisation and I thought it fitting that the ending was redemptive without being too tidily wrapped up. 9/10.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews