Meryem's Honour (Din heder)

Martin Svensson

What happens when two cultures collide?

 

After Viktor gets back from a short walk he discovers that his balcony door is tampered with and opened. But nothing seems to be stolen. This is the beginning of a number of strange events which all lead up to Viktor getting in contact with Meryem, a Palestinian/Kurdish girl in her twenties.

 

Viktor is, more or less unwillingly, slowly drawn into her life and dazing existence. Parallel we follow Meryem and her family’s first year in Sweden, as she remembers it.

 

Meryem’s Honour takes place during a summer in Stockholm when Viktor tries to kill time, while he is waiting for his son to come home. Apart from that he becomes more and more mixed up in everything that has to do with Meryem and her family, he also gets regular visits from his neighbour – an early retired man Viktor calls “One-leg-missing” who spends his days holding classes in the most suspicious topics and subjects.

 

But most of all, this story is about Meryems integrity and honour, the one she never was given by her parents or the Swedish society. The story is written for her, from Viktor’s perspective.

 

252 pages

 

English reading material available. Translation by Laurie Thompson.

 

Rights sold

Sweden: Lind & Co, Pocketförlaget, Earbooks

 

Reviews

"A very strong novel. /... / Read this book, it's important."

Malou von Sivers TV4

 

"You can't be anything but impresed by Svensson's courage to deal with a theme this current and which engages so many people."
Gefle Dagblad

 

"Svensson is sometimes quite sharp in his psychological analyses."
Dalarnas tidningar

 

"An important contribution to the debade about honor violence. I would enjoy to read more by Martin Svensson."

Östgöta Correspondenten