A Fortune Foretold

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Agneta Pleijel writes a painful yet humorous autobiographical novel about childhood in the aftermath of World War II. A prophecy is received by a beloved aunt, a prophecy that her young niece eagerly waits to see fulfilled. The story takes place in the 1950s in the suburbs of Stockholm, in the university town of Lund, and in the United States. Neta’s childhood is in disarray. She reads—words give form to the vagueness of existence—and is busy thinking about the female sex, family, and the stupendous diversity of people in the world. Her father, a mathematician, and her mother, a musician, are in constant conflict, but she loves them both. Gradually Neta realizes that she’s grown up in a lie and that she must step carefully through the war zone of her parents’ marriage. This is an insightful tale about the search for truth, morality, and a place of your own in the world.