Acts of Infidelity

Description

'A novel of heartbreak told with intellectual rigor. It gripped me from first page to last. Fantastic!' Alice Sebold When Ester Nilsson meets the actor Olof Sten, she falls madly in love. Olof makes no secret of being married, but he and Ester nevertheless start to meet regularly and begin to conduct a strange dance of courtship. Olof insists he doesn't plan to leave his wife, but he doesn't object to this new situation either . . . it's far too much fun. Ester, on the other hand, is convinced that things might change. But as their relationship continues over repeated summers of distance, and winters of heated meetings in bars, she is forced to realize the truth: Ester Nilsson has become a mistress. To read Acts of Infidelity is to dive inside the mind of a brilliant, infuriating friend - Ester's and Olof's entanglements and arguments are the stuff of relationship nightmares. Cutting, often cruel, and written with razor-sharp humour, Acts of Infidelity is clever, painful, maddening, but most of all perfectly, precisely true. Praise for Wilful Disregard 'Gripped me like an airport read . . . perfect' Lena Dunham

Lena Andersson (b. 1970) is a novelist and columnist for Dagens Nyheter, Sweden's largest morning paper. She lives in Stockholm where she is considered one of the country's sharpest contemporary analysts. Her novel Wilful Disregard won Sweden's prestigious August Prize.

Lena Andersson can do no wrong. Acts of Infidelity is a novel of heartbreak told with intellectual rigor. It gripped me from first page to last. Fantastic! -- Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones There are few people writing about love and longing with such unflinching sharpness and insight as Lena Andersson. She gives feelings and experiences so often dismissed as trivial the attention and gravity they deserve, to brilliant, and often painful, effect. -- Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure This is a follow up to Wilful Disregard, but you don't need to have read that to appreciate the craftsmanship of Acts of Infidelity . . . Andersson's book is cutting and honest, and Ester's situation and feelings are frustrating, complicated and so, so real. * Stylist * I haven't been able to stop thinking about this truly stunning read . . . It's so insidious and calculated, and this intellectual giant of a woman so blind to reality, that I wanted to shake her. Endless wisdom and elegance - buy immediately * Daily Mail * A thoughtful and sharp exploration of how our culture views infidelity * Elle Magazine * Wise and elegant - I can't stop thinking about it. * Daily Mail * Andersson (well served by Saskia Vogel's subtle translation) is an electrifying writer -- Catherine Taylor * Times Literary Supplement *