Grim - by Sara B Elfgren (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Eighteen-year-old Kasper has gone through a rough time, but now hehas landed his dream job at the amusement park Grèona Lund. He befriends Iris who teaches him how to terrify guests in the haunted house. Thirty years earlier, in Stockholm of the eighties, sixteen-year-old Hêakan's life changes when he meets Grim. They live and breathe music and have big plans for their death metal band. But it all comes to nothing when Grim dies. Hêakan breaks up the band. What really happened? Kasper, who is Hêakan's son, tries to find out the truth. Together with Iris he delves into the myths and secrets surrounding the band, and his dad's best friend. Grim, who inexplicably died at such a young age. Who was he? And why does he appear in Kasper s dreams?"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A death metal mystery.

Eighteen-year-old Kasper has gone through a rough time, but now he has landed his dream job at the amusement park Gröna Lund. He befriends Iris who teaches him how to terrify guests in the haunted house.

Thirty years earlier, in Stockholm of the eighties, sixteen-year-old Håkan's life changes when he meets Grim. They live and breathe music and have big plans for their death metal band. But it all comes to nothing when Grim dies. Håkan breaks up the band.

What really happened? Kasper, who is Håkan's son, tries to find out the truth. Together with Iris he delves into the myths and secrets surrounding the band, and his dad's best friend. Grim, who inexplicably died at such a young age. Who was he? And why does he appear in Kasper's dreams?

Review Quotes

"The prose is vibrant and evocative where it most needs to be . . . Grim creates excellent tension, delivering clues at key moments without revealing too much at once . . . With themes echoing the battle between darkness and light, Grim is a captivating dark fantasy novel that explores what happens when reality clashes with the supernatural."-- "Foreword Magazine"

"A young man struggles with his demons against the backdrop of the Scandinavian death metal scene in this novel translated from Swedish.

Nineteen-year-old Kasper is the son of a legendary bassist whose first band, Dark Cruelty, achieved notoriety in the 1980s due to both its promise and the untimely and mysterious death of its charismatic lead singer, Grim.

The intricately described world of this very specific music scene will thrill fans and those with a penchant for exploring subcultures. Richly imagined characters populate this niche setting, and the novel's deft lacing of unsettling paranormal flourishes drawing on myth and magic with accurate and heart-rending depictions of the experiences Kasper has with anxiety and depression provide balance.

An atmospheric, heady, ambiguous mystery."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

About the Author

Sara B. Elfgren is an award-winning Swedish writer, screenwriter and playwright. She made her debut with the YA novel The Circle (2011), which she co-wrote with Mats Strandberg. The Circle was the first part in the Engelsfors trilogy, and it has been translated into twenty-five languages. Since her debut, Elfgren has written critically acclaimed novels, children's books, graphic novels, audio dramas, screenplays and TV scripts. Her plays have been performed on some of Sweden's most prestgious stages. She has even written a VR Game, the award-winning, heart-warming and heartbreaking Ghost Giant (2019). Her graphic novels Vei 1 and 2, which she co-created with illustrator Karl Johnsson, made Mike Carey exclaim: "Wonderful stuff!" and Lev Grossman said: "You cannot miss it." When The Circle was made into a movie Elfgren co-wrote the screenplay with the film's director Levan Akin (And Then We Danced, AMC's Interview with the Vampire). In 2022 the TV series Dough, for which Elfgren was one of the head writers, was awarded the most prestigious Swedish TV award Kristallen for Best Drama Series.

She was born in Stockholm and still lives there. She has a degree in Film Studies. She enjoys reading, watching old movies, listening to music, playing video games and going for long walks. She is currently working on an opera libretto.

She has been nominated for or won a number of literary awards:
2021 - Winner of the Urhunden Award
2020 - VEI, Book 1 - Silver medal in the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award
2018 - In Dreams - Swedish Audio Award, Best YA-of-the-year
2018 - In Dreams - nominated to the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literary Prize
2019 - The White Reindeer Award
2012 - Fire - Book Jury Prize

Judith Kiros is a Swedish poet and journalist. She was one of the founders of the antiracist and feminist media platform Rummet, and is currently the editor of literature at Kontext. She also writes for Dagens Nyheter and Flamman.