Reviews
Fylgia reviews.
“A subtle and poignant novel set in a small town in Sweden during World War I, and 60 years later, wherein a woman reflects on her life choices and their long-reaching consequences.”
Mrs. Dalloway’s Recommended Read, San Francisco Chronicle
“The love, loss, and heartache here will take your breath away. Just beautifully written, by an author who has come into her own.”
Susan Mary Malone, Author of Over the Pass, and Other Stories (Dark Horse Fiction, 2018)
“Rich description, focus on tiny details, and pithy summations of the characters make it hard for the reader to believe that this is not actually a memoir, so totally does the author inhabit the world of which she writes.”
Annie Whitehead, Discovering Diamonds
“Based on actual events, Fylgia lures the reader with unanswered questions amid vivid evocations of life in war-time Sweden. With this novel Hjalmarson shifts from historian to master storyteller. At once flinty and subtle, Fylgia is a most satisfying read.”
Jacquelynn Baas, Author of Marcel Duchamp and the Art of Life (MIT, Fall 2019)
“I was completely enchanted by the Swedish lore and atmosphere. This storyline creates a sense of mystery and intrigue and evokes mood and expectation fused with themes of birth, death, history, religion, and war. This is a classic tale and each character is brilliantly written so that they remind us of the eminent frailties of human nature.”
Lori Shriver, Lori’s Book Loft
“This is a historical fiction memoir with a bite, as the story draws you in, and draws you on.”
Sam Law, It’s Good to Read
“No spoilers here, except to say about the ending—powerful, searing, magnificent really.”
Pam Reitman, Goodreads
“This book is fierce, and tender, and resolute. Just like Sweden.”
Janet Kitchens, Goodreads
“Something intriguing and gripping flows through every page of this unique work of fiction. We move with the people of Hult through WWI, the Spanish Flu, the Great Recession, WWII and modern times, a world where matchmaking still exists but love finds a way beyond public restrictions. This is classic historical fiction spanning several decades and revealing the characters behind the veil of Swedish law. Beautifully crafted.”
Viviane Crystal, The Historical Novels Review
Buy Fylgia (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound, Mrs Dalloway’s)
Journal
by Birgitta Hjalmarson
Before Fylgia (6)
Before Fylgia, there was another story, told by the villagers themselves. Many of my readers have asked about it, and so I decided to post it here. This is the sixth installment. Not yet fiction, it occupies a realm of its own. Carl Fredrik Lundgren was a man...
Eugenics. The Darker Side of Sweden.
Journal by Birgitta Hjalmarson In August of 1904, the University of Lund gave its first summer lecture. The topic was whether or not the Germanic tribes had originated in Skåne, the southernmost province of Sweden, where Lund had been founded about 990, the university...
Fylgia Chapter One Excerpt
Chapter One Excerpt I STILL GO to the grave. My younger self runs ahead. I follow, cutting through the forest and staying away from the country road. An old woman in a beret and a tweed jacket. Anemones cover the graveyard in the spring. Songbirds nest in the church...