Artens överlevnad

• Sandgren writes fluently and captivatingly, without sacrificing any depth. Over time, the characters almost begin to feel like acquaintances (friends?), with some truly unforgettable ones among them (Mische, Sonja, and Gunnar, for instance), ensuring that as a reader you remain deeply engaged throughout this expansive story.

• Artens överlevnad is intellectual and I feel myself getting smarter with every page without feeling like I'm reading a textbook. Granted, it borders on overly pretentious at times, but I can forgive that. Even the overuse of the phrase 'now here, now there' irritated me a bit, but that's a minor detail. I could easily read more!

• Imagine possessing your pen, your ability to transform everyday observations into musical pieces, your precise subordinate clauses and potent nouns. I'm thinking of placing your book beside my keyboard, reading a few pages to let your prose act as a stimulant; then perhaps I could produce something that sounds the way I want it to sound, the way you make words sing.

• I really enjoyed Lydia Sandgren's debut novel Collected Works. She has fantastic language and an eye for detail. The new novel Artens överlevnad does not disappoint me. A lovely portrayal of Gothenburg in the 70s and present day. She writes with humor and despite the 777-page length, you aren't handed everything on a platter but get to read between the lines.

• And how 'Artens överlevnad' delivers. This is the reading experience of reading experiences; whether the plot unfolds in Gothenburg, Rome, or New York, in collectives or at fashionable parties, Lydia Sandgren draws from her rich vocabulary—every sentence is phenomenal and so fitting that you sigh with pleasure—and in her multifaceted way of telling stories about people, life, dreams, and love.

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