Every sentence has been constructed with immense care. Every scene has been honed and polished until it sings. There is not a word that hasn’t been carefully considered before its inclusion, then reconsidered with each redrafting. […] It is without doubt one of the most meticulously built works of fiction I’ve read in a long time.” If there is one thing that Lydia Sandgren has accomplished it is the stirring of emotions.(…) Collected Works is without a doubt the most hyped work of literary fiction published in Sweden this year.” An] absorbing story . . . [ Collected Works] is a witty, toothy, family saga, unashamedly intellectual but rarely bogged down by the weight of its theories . . . It’s refreshing to read such a confidently ambitious work that holds art, literature, and philosophy close to its heart . . . Collected Works is an assured, bittersweet novel that, like youth, seems to have it all—energy, aspiration, and self-delusion.”

The police dropped the investigation since there were no signs of anything untoward having taken place. Samlade verk är en koloss till bok sådär rent fysiskt, och även om jag gillade läsningen blev jag aldrig helt och fullt uppslukad, stjärnögd och såld. Det är nog därför jag tänker att den här romanen lika gärna kunde ha varit något kortare och mer lätthanterlig. Poised at the intersection of life and art, reality and imagination, [Collected Works] blends the thrill of mystery with the curiosity and depth of philosophical inquiry.”An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored.

The novel rambles along agreeably enough with its cast of quite interesting characters, for the most part contrasting past and present in an intriguing fashion.the astounding detail Sandgren injects into each of her characters, any one of whom could be the protagonist of their own story”[…] “A remarkable, addictive and quietly subversive work”

One expects the novel to be slowly building to a mighty revelation, whether it’s the return of the prodigal wife and mother, or merely the disclosure of a definitive piece in the riddle of Cecilia’s desertion. But Sandgren doesn’t seem interested in such kinds of fictional artifice. Instead, she embraces the mess, misunderstandings and inscrutabilities that constitute real people living real lives – which makes a lot of sense, since her day job is as a practising psychologist. There is also a book that Martin gives Rakel, which he asks her to prepare a readers report on, so that he can decide whether or not he wants to buy the Swedish rights for it. Clues that her disappearance isn't as complete as Martin has long believed do crop up from early on, not least in the form of Ein Jahr der Liebe -- but even these lead more to more questions than satisfying answers. Op het tweede vertelspoor worden Martins kinderen door een toeval aangemoedigd op zoek te gaan naar een antwoord op de vraag waarom hun moeder Cecilia onverwacht haar gezin in de steek liet. De spanning wordt opgedreven: de eerste tijdlijn haalt de andere langzamerhand in en de enigmatische verdwijning van Cecilia blijft lang flikkeren, als een waakvlam die pas heel laat echt ontbrandt. Admirably, Sandgren doesn't opt for the easy course in the end: there is at least one surprising and very big turn, but the novel's build-up isn't to a simple resolution but rather a much more open-ended one.

Collected Works

Kastellgatan was actually located at the heart of Martin’s walking pattern. He passed Järntorget Square every day. He often walked up Linnégatan or down Övre Husar. Sometimes, he had to get from one of those streets to the other, via Risåsgatan or Majorsgatan, for instance, but no matter what route he chose, he never ended up on Kastellgatan. It had been that way for over a decade, with one glaring exception, that time he accidentally found himself in Cecilia’s old flat. Sandgren hooks the reader with an absorbing, multilayered plot that shifts between past and present, building slowly towards the emotional and narrative mystery at its heart."