SANNINGSBERGET – MOUNT VERITY
By Therese Bohman
A coming-of-age tale with a suspense element. Is there a connection between truth and art, and do we ever stop grieving a loss?
KOLMÅRDEN, THE YEAR 1989. On the night of Easter Eve, twelve-year-old Hanna’s older brother Erik is going to the church’s midnight mass with his Christian confirmation group. Afterwards, he and some friends go to the mysterious Truth Mountain, where there is a cave that, according to legend, was used in the witch trials in Östergötland during the 17th century. Rumour has it that whoever goes down into the cave can disappear into the mountain and stay there. Erik never comes home that night.
OVER THE YEARS, Hanna and childhood friend Marcus develop an increasingly symbiotic relationship, until life takes them in different directions. He pursues an academic career, while she fails to get into art schools, feeling uncertain about her direction in life and doubting her talent. When Hanna finally becomes a successful artist, she cannot let go of what it has cost her. What justice decided that she was allowed to live and that Erik disappeared? What is there left to believe in when the worst has happened? And can the story of Truth Mountain be more than a fable?
WITH MOUNT VERITY, Therese Bohman returns to Kolmården, where she grew up. This is a powerful coming-of-age story with elements of suspense, raising questions about art and truth, but also about how you are shaped into the person you become.
ABOUT THE BOOK
First published by Norstedts, Sweden 2024
RIGHTS SOLD TO
Denmark, Turbine
Hungary, Polar Könyvek
Poland, Wydawnictwo Pauza
Sweden, Norstedts
US, Other Press
REVIEWS
Therese Bohman’s writing has reached such a status that a new novel is considered an event. Even more so when the approach feels new and unexpected. […] It is sometimes said that the most difficult thing for a writer to learn is to navigate through long periods of time. Therese Bohman has already demonstrated her mastery of realistic chamber drama: using crystalline prose to place a few people side by side, in a defined time and place, and allowing the shadow play of humanity to unfold.
– Expressen
There is much I like about Mount Verity. Above all, the lightness of the language. Therese Bohman writes objectively and romantically at the same time (she herself uses these words to describe Hanna’s artistry). Bohman is at her best when she writes about the tension in relationships and when she describes the mysterious quality and original function of art: to connect us with the eternal. […] A beautiful and melancholic portrayal of the passage of time.
– Dagen
A thriller-like coming-of-age novel about art and class, city versus countryside. I lean back and appreciate this understated, but beautifully composed and evocative, coming-of-age story.
– Sveriges Radio Kulturnytt
The style is distinctive and precise. The prose takes on a deceptively simple form; this is a clever book with the approach of an idea novel.
– Dagens Nyheter
Therese Bohman is exquisitely skilled. In her new novel, Therese Bohman writes about big things with small means. […] It is exquisitely skilful to write about something so big with such small means.
– Svenska Dagbladet
The disappearance of a big brother creates a deep trauma in Therese Bohman’s new novel. Mount Verity is a spellbinding read.
– Upsala Nya Tidning
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