The Swedish Family – the fourth and final instalment in Susanna Alakoski‘s critically acclaimed Cotton Quartet is now out in Sweden.
With The Swedish Family, Alakoski brings to a close an ambitious literary project spanning more than a century, several generations of women and a history stretching from 19th-century Finland to present-day Sweden and the global textile industry. Across four novels, The Cotton Quartet traces the lives of working-class women through migration, labour, family and social change, exploring how history is carried from one generation to the next.
The series began with Cotton Angel, followed by The London Girl and The Traveller. Together, the novels form an expansive portrait of women’s lives and textile work, and of the forces that have shaped both families and societies across generations.
How traditions and generations forge links – this is expressed particularly beautifully in Susanna Alakoski’s Cotton Quartet. But central to the narrative is also the portrayal of young people’s departure. The forces that drive Hilda, Greta and Kathrine to set off. The longing for a better life, for a life of their own, or simply a life … a magnificent tapestry dedicated to Finnish and Swedish working-class women. It is a work that is both educational and deeply moving.
– ArbetarbladetSusanna Alakoski has written a magnificent collective epic.
– Aftonbladet[The Cotton Quartet] can be seen as a massive, detailed, tapestry of female textile workers’ hardships and struggles.
– Dala-DemokratenThe text thunders, sings and whispers with lust when Susanna Alakoski depict desire, learning and political struggle … This is rich and powerful literature.
– Sydsvenskan
In The Swedish Family, we meet Barbara, in 21st century Sweden. Barbara is interested in art history, seeks answers in her family’s history – in what has been passed down and in what has never been told. In her search, she grows closer to her mother Kathrine, and together they try to understand a legacy that still shapes and influences their lives.
As Barbara begins to unravel generations of women’s lives, from the cotton mill in Vaasa to the present day, questions arise that lead to a journey and an encounter with the garment industry in Bangladesh.
The Swedish Family ties together a century of experiences and shows how the past lives on – in the body, in relationships, and in our choices. And textile production continues.
