THE REVENGE PROJECT (HÄMNDPROJEKTET)

In a moving box, Nico finds her old diary and starts flipping through it. Among more or less embarrassing notes about infatuations and drunkenness, she reads something that cuts straight to her, decades later: ‘‘Revenge sets me free!”

Although she is now an adult, a parent, a trained psychologist — in other words, someone who absolutely should not be indulging in revenge fantasies of any kind — she notices that her desire for revenge is not extinguished. It’s just buried under a thin layer of rushed-over civility.

For then something terrible happens. Something that makes her rage flare up like a gunshot in the brain, her obsession rage like a wildfire in her chest, and rekindles her thirst for revenge.
The Revenge Project delves deep into our contemporary view of retribution. Is it possible to rationalize revenge? Is there a right and a wrong way to react to trauma? And how do you actually regain control when someone has done you real harm?

Rights

Sweden: Norstedts

REVIEWS

“The book has a strong page-turning quality […] It’s painful, and Jägerfeld makes Nico’s trauma and anxiety become the reader’s own. The man’s psychopathic traits are rendered with such subtle brushstrokes. Simple everyday events, long after, send Nico back to the time she was under his control, and the desire, the need to get back, grows larger than anything else. Rape and revenge, the novel fits perfectly within this classic genre. […] The Revenge Project is not only a page-turner, but also aims to educate about the prolonged reactions of those subjected to sexually tinged violence, and the consequences it brings.”
Sydsvenskan / SWE

“The result is a spirited essay on BDSM sex and the desire for revenge. Or a candid depiction of depression, illness, and post-traumatic stress. […] The strength of the book lies in its essayistic style. In its fluidity, its ability to reconsider its positions, to start from the subjective, to teach both itself and its reader something. About violence and fear, victims and perpetrators. How they often intersect.”
Aftonbladet / SWE

“The Revenge Project is a book that thematizes blurry boundaries and the book itself has blurry boundaries, in an overwhelmingly positive sense. […] I’m really wrestling with this book, yet I find it hard to put down; it’s sharp and well-written […] a keen analysis and a lesson in not getting stuck in humiliation.”
Dagens Nyheter / SWE

“The essay-like texts should create distance; they should bury the Incident, the assault, deep within detached academic writing. But what happens is the opposite. Hypnotized, I am drawn into the narrator’s mind. Jenny Jägerfeld is smart, funny, and linguistically skilled. She is also a practicing psychologist. In The Revenge Project, she uses all the tools at her disposal, and the result is impressive.”
Jönköpings-Posten / SWE

“This is a reading experience beyond the ordinary – it takes both a psychologist and a masterful fiction writer to create something like this. Simply put, it takes Jenny Jägerfeld.”
Psykologtidningen / SWE

“Despite the subject, The Revenge Project is funny, just like Jägerfeld’s books usually are. It’s especially good when Nico recounts anecdotes from her past. […] The Revenge Project is at its best when Jägerfeld dwells on describing events, showing that the question of morality and justice is complex.”
Svenska Dagbladet / SWE

“The Revenge Project becomes a powerful story. About the drive for revenge. About shame. Jenny Jägerfeld’s new novel offers insight. It sparks many thoughts.”
Västerbottens-Kuriren / SWE

“Parallel to Nico’s retrospection on her life, the theme of revenge is explored in essayistic texts. Popular culture is mixed with research reports, statistics, and pure curiosities. An overwhelming part of the book is dedicated to these well-written and interesting tangents. […] The language is vivid and joyful, despite the dark theme […] the portrayed scenes are sparkling and engaging”
BTJ, Swedish Library Service / SWE

“When Nico finally gets her revenge, it’s not in the way one might expect, which elevates the entire book. So if you read The Revenge Project, read it all the way to the end when the revenge arrives, because it’s sweet!”
Fempers / SWE