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Synopsis:

A mega best-seller in Sweden, with rights sold to over a dozen countries and a TV adaptation underway, Annika Norlin’s debut novel The Colony is the biggest Swedish literary phenomenon since Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove.  

Winner of the Vi Literature Award and Swedish Radio’s Novel Prize, two of Sweden’s biggest literary awards, The Colony is a gripping portrayal of contemporary society and its alternatives. 

Burnt-out from a demanding job and a bustling life in the city, Emelie has left town to spend a few days in the country. Once there, in the peaceful, verdant hills, down by the river she encounters a mysterious group of seven people, each with personal stories full of pain, alienation, and the longing to live differently. They are misfits, each in their own way, and all led by the enigmatic and charismatic Sara. 

How did they end up there? Are they content with the rigid roles they’ve been assigned? And what happens when an outsider appears and is initially drawn to their alternative lifestyle but cannot help but stir things up? 

A masterful blend of humor, emotion, unforgettable characters, and sharp social commentary, The Colony is a magnetic and deeply touching story about love, community, and the unfathomable power we other others and that others have over us. 

Review:

The Colony is the debut novel by songwriter and artist Anika Norlin. This is her first novel, originally published in Sweden in 2023 and going on to win the Vi Literature Award and Swedish Radio’s Novel Prize. The English translation by Alice E. Olsson is published by Europa Editions. 

The story starts with Emile, burned out with living in the city and her job. She learns that camping and being in nature is more appealing than sleeping in an apartment and answering her phone. Before long, she spends more and more time in the woods and less time answering the queries of those worried about her. While in the woods, she starts to observe a group of people who seem to be living in the woods as well. This group are doing strange things like singing and dancing to no music, saying “Thank you” to every fish they catch and eat, and spending long times not saying a single word to one another. She watches them for a while and is particularly interested in the youngest one, a teenager whom she dubs “Poor Bastard” because of the way that he is part of the group but not exactly included. Eventually she runs into “Poor Bastard” and grow a friendship. This friendship turns into meeting the whole group, having dinner, drinking moonshine, and being part of the colony. The novel is long, over 400 pages, and a great deal of the time is going through the histories of the members of the community, but the whole time, I was engrossed in the story and wanted to keep reading. 

I read this novel faster than I expected. Even though there seems to only be a small amount of things happening in the real story, the development of the characters and the stories of how they came together and why they choose to live away from society are all compelling. We are able to make sense as to why someone would want to live in this group, away from society, being almost completely self-reliant. If this twenty-first century argument on whether or not living in a city with an apartment or the internet is better or living in the country where you do not see anyone for months at a time but you can live off of the land and ignore the poison that society brings, then Annika Norlin shows the pros and cons to both in an even handed way. There is not once where we feel like any of these characters are making the wrong decisions, even when they are not always the most beneficial. The crux of the biggest argument in the novel comes with Låke or “Poor Bastard”, the teenager who had grown up in the Colony and what they owe him as far as education and interaction with people his own age. 

The Colony is an interesting study in societies, not only the society outside of the group but the social constructs that happen within any group of people. Even though they say they are all equal, everyone still plays different roles within the smaller society. The Colony is just another society that has those with more and less influence. We are treated to an deep exploration of this concept, and Annika Norlin has written a compelling study on how even when bigger social constructs are left behind, a new social constructs with organically appear.

I have received an ARC of The Colony from Europa Editions in exchange for an honest review.