The Beginning of Something New (Början på något nytt)
Jenny Fagerlund
Rights sold
Denmark: Gyldendal
Norway: Gyldendal
Sweden: Norstedts
Johanna has just moved with her family to Båstad. Here she will have time to make something of herself and write the great novel she has always dreamed of. But the move will not be as she has imagined. Rather, she begins to wonder if everything is not one big mistake.
While all her friends have children and settled down, Alex invests in a career as an influencer and enjoys it. After a devastating drama of infidelity, she flees to the family's summer cottage.
Once there, she realizes how lonely she really is. Even though she has three hundred thousand followers on Instagram, she still has no one to turn to when life collapses.
After forty years as a flight attendant, Mona has reluctantly retired. What should be a wonderful time has become quite the opposite. She does not know what to do with all the time she now has on her hands. Who is she now? And how should she handle the emptiness she carries when she no longer has a job to go to?
By chance, the three women meet in a competition together. What could have ended in a fleeting moment will become something entirely new.
347 pages
Reviews:
"It's so interesting to follow three women so different from each other in the midst of their lives. I like the fact that they're like you and me. Normal people. Jenny Fagerlund grabs my interest straight away. I get to dive right into the parts where Mona, Johanna and Alex share their trouble and thoughts. By immediately opening the lid to the difficulties that they experience she captivates me." - @enboknagrakopparte, book blog
"This charming story mixes melancholy and doubts with friendship and joy. Jenny Fagerlund is a master at feel good. Her novels are bursting with emotions... extremely high quality read and a mandatory read for all feel good lovers." @I_min_bokhylla, book blog
“There is no evil that does not bring something good with it. Even though it may not feel like it when you are in the middle of a life crisis. And that's exactly what Johanna, Alex and Mona are in The Beginning of Something New. All three feel lonely and tormented by their life situation and the choices they face. Loneliness, life and expectations run like a common thread throughout the book, but the importance of friendship is also an important ingredient in this feelgood pearl.
Jenny Fagerlund has once again shown that she is one of Sweden's feelgood queens. She has an ability to portray reality in a believable way, with the right mix of light and darkness. Even before I read 100 pages, I was so emotionally touched that I felt tears welling up. “ – boktanten
“The book is well written and easy to like, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the plot. I also felt with the characters' problems, tragedies and emotions and I could not stop reading about these three women's stories.
The Beginning of Something New contains sadness, misunderstandings, problematic relationships and tragedies that are intertwined with charming moments where nature gets a lot of focus. The story is also skillfully written with emotional ups and downs, eventful plot and genuine characters. I quickly became attached to the characters and their personalities, and I would have loved to read more books about their stories.” – @idasrecensioner
”This is a writer who just goes from clarity to clarity! A star that is truly here to stay!
Oh how I liked this book! In true feelgood spirit, I know that everything will end well, but on the way there I will be appalled, touched & inspired!
I think Jenny succeeds so well in portraying loneliness and the feeling of being lost. To be alone even if you have 300k followers on social media. To have a lot of people around but still be alone. There is something frighteningly familiar about that feeling, but the author manages to capture it so genuinely!
We get to follow three women aged 30-60 who are all faced with some kind of life choice or anguish. It's about relationships and happiness, finding oneself but at the same time daring to let go of the "old". Simply being true to yourself.
It has all the right ingredients for a good feelgood. It starts in the dark, but slowly the light rises until its rays pierce everything.” - @Millimys
”High level Feelgood. This is a wonderful gem - feelgood at its best. I have read all of Jenny's books and I am sold every time and patiently wait for the next one. It is a well-written, easy-to-read book that has depth, warmth, it feels genuine, and realistic. I am caught up in the lives and feelings of the different characters. It is a balanced mix of light and darkness and sheds light on everyday things about how we can experience exclusion, infidelity, moving to a new town and life as a newly retired person. When I close the book I have that warm feeling in the stomach and heart.” @veronicas_bok_bak_liv
