ISLAND (Ö)

The utmost beauty and the utmost terror exist in the ties to those closest to us.  

Mirjam is in the throes of a painful separation when her sister Nia suddenly gets in in touch. Nia is making plans for her fortieth birthday, and invites Mirjam to a celebration on the island where they spent their childhood summers.

Mirjam hasn’t heard from her sister in a year, and the newfound connection fills her with hope and trepidation. She decides to return to the island that once were their paradise. Now it has become a place of danger for both of them.

A place where death is looming.

300 pages

Rights

Czech Republic: Metafora
Denmark: Modtryk
Finland: WSOY
Germany: Heyne (Penguin Random House)
Italy: Marsilio Editori
Netherlands: De Fontein
Sweden: Albert Bonniers

BLURBS

“Island is an extraordinary thriller where the expected never happens and the fictional seems real. A chamber play about life and death where betrayal, regret, love and hate reach a boiling point.”
Niklas Natt och Dag (author of 1793, 1794 and 1795)

“Island is a chilling story with many layers and depths. A novel brimming with thrilling and unexpected twists and turns, while describing domestic violence incredibly well. Unputdownable.”
Moa Herngren (author of The Divorce, The Inheritance)

“Island by Sara B. Elfgren seizes you with an unrelenting intensity that is both harrowing and unforgettable.  Sara proves once more that she is a master of her craft, weaving a thriller that is as intense as it is profound.”
Levan Akin (Director of And then We Danced, Passage, Interview with the Vampire)

“A well-written, claustrophobic thriller with several unexpected twists and breathtaking scenes that hit you in the gut.”
Sofie Sarenbrant, (author of the Emma Sköld series)

“Wow! Jump scare in book form! I jumped (at least) twice. Believable characters, a claustrophobic dinner party in the middle of a storm and, again, twists and turns that really work. !”
Malin Stehn (author of Happy New Year)

REVIEWS

“Sara B. Elfgren’s new novel shines with eloquent rage. […] a suspense novel with several surprising twists and turns […] It is a startling description of toxic relationships, of their tell tale signs and mechanisms […]  the searing rage of an eloquent writer with an acute errand.”
Dagens Nyheter / SWE

“a depiction of the constant proximity of alternative realities, and how easy it is to get lost in the darkness of the labyrinth […] With Island Elfgren updates an older gothic tradition for our time.”
Aftonbladet / SWE

“B. Elfgren knows her genre and packs the plot with a couple of tremendous twists, but she also has the courage to add a dash of humor. Subtly, she adds layers of backstory, but even though the story moves back and forth in time it never gets confusing. […] 300 pages fly by and you won’t put down the book until it’s over and the storm has passed.”
Göteborgs-Posten / SWE

“B. Elfgren elegantly enhances the story using classic a gothic palette […] The present and the dramatic climax is effortlessly interwoven with the storyteller Mirjam’s memories and reflections encompassing the sisters’ symbiotic, unequal relationship […] the gaps, the coincidences and the reasons behind why many close their eyes to the violence close to them.”
Borås Tidning / SWE

“a horror story about […] how some relationships can awaken you, and some can break you, how closeness with a certain person can create distance to others, and to oneself […] The sisters tentatively seek a connection with each other. B. Elfgren depicts the mix of togetherness and individual anxiety with incredible skill. […] Distressing, told in a driven manner, B. Elfgren deftly toys with the gothic elements, the darkness, the claustrophobia. […]”
Sydsvenskan / SWE

“A poignant thriller that will be considered a milestone in B. Elfgren’s bibliography.”
Café Magazine / SWE

“Within the island’s claustrophobic space, the forces of nature clash on an existential level with human evil in gripping scenes. […] This well-written and engrossing thriller with its mounting tension establishes B.Elfgren as a writer of adult fiction.”
Växjöbladet-Kronobergaren / SWE

“A new way to describe one of the ever relevant and oldest themes: destructive love.”
GoodReads / SWE

“Island is a psychological thriller that skillfully connects to the romantic Gothic tradition. The narrative style and language are evocative, with an external setting of a rugged cliff landscape on the island, crowned by a solitary pine tree, harmonizing with and enhancing the inner, conflicting emotional life of the first-person narrator.”
Rating: 4
BTJ / SWE

“Sara B. Elfgren has a keen understanding of human flaws at all ages — Island is a spine-chilling page-turner full of relationships!”
Femina / SWE

“Some books hit the spot. Island is an electrifying novel about two sisters and their bond. […] a chilling thriller […] a hellish night on an island in the Stockholm archipelago. […] For me personally it was a reading experience out of the ordinary and a striking portrayal of voluntary childlessness.”
Prickiga Paula / SWE

“A great setting for a scary story, a setting that we recognize from many books and films. […] If you’re going to use it again you have to excel and that is exactly what Sara B. Elfgren does in her new novel […] a depiction of friendship, and how relationships change during life […] breathtaking and very thrilling”
Kapprakt.se / SWE