'Profane, funny, and uncomfortably honest' - Brandon Taylor Twenty-year-old Lilja is in love. He is older and beautiful, a Derrida-quoting intellectual. He is also a serial cheater, gaslighter and narcissist. Lilja will do anything to hold on to him. And so she accepts his deceptions and endures his sexual desires. She rationalizes his toxic behaviour and permits him to cross all her boundaries. In her desperation to be the perfect lover, she finds herself unable to break free from the toxic cycle. And then an unexpected ...
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'Profane, funny, and uncomfortably honest' - Brandon Taylor Twenty-year-old Lilja is in love. He is older and beautiful, a Derrida-quoting intellectual. He is also a serial cheater, gaslighter and narcissist. Lilja will do anything to hold on to him. And so she accepts his deceptions and endures his sexual desires. She rationalizes his toxic behaviour and permits him to cross all her boundaries. In her desperation to be the perfect lover, she finds herself unable to break free from the toxic cycle. And then an unexpected ultimatum: an all-consuming love, or the promise of a life reclaimed. Thora Hj�rleifsd�ttir explores the darkest corners of relationships, capturing an ugly, hidden nature of love. In an era of growing pornification, she deftly illustrates the failings of our culture in recognizing symptoms of cruelty. In visceral, poetic prose, translated from Icelandic by Meg Matich, Magma depicts the unspooling of a tender-hearted young woman aching to love and be loved. 'Mesmerizing . . . Hj�sleifsd�ttir dives deep into the fire-rivers of lust, just how much humiliation we're willing to tolerate in the name of love.' - Oprah Daily
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Add this copy of Magma to cart. $23.69, new condition, Sold by Halcyon Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from LONDON, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2021 by Picador.
Magma is a very short novella (I finished it in a few hours), but it' one of those stories that packs a punch and stays with you for a long time. Written in an almost diary-entry like fashion, we see snippets of young Lilja's life as she meets a man, gets trapped into an abusive relationship and falls into depression.
Although it's a short story it's very well paced which helps to keep you hooked at all points. The chapters are each named and are very short with most no more than a page or two long and some even being a paragraph. The chapters all revolve around a theme and some are written in flashback as well but this isn't confusing. You empathise immediately with Lilja and although she makes some very silly decisions you can see why she does them as you really get into her mindset which stops this from becoming too frustrating.
The structure of the novel is also well thought out and although the ending took me by surprise and is very depressing it matches the story very well and leaves you with a lot to think about. The translation is very well done as well and nothing jarred or stood out, the writing is quite beautiful and flowed well which juxtaposes the theme of the book nicely.
Overall, Magma isn't a happy read but it's a powerful one. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan -Picador for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.