This post is a part of the writing project called Stories from the West that I started with Christa. We’re both currently living on the west coasts (Christa in the US, me in Sweden), hence the name of the project. We want to share our experiences living as immigrants, and every month we’ll write a post each with the same topic. The topic for this month is ‘book recommendations‘. Don’t forget to read Christa’s post, 3 Books about being an Immigrant in America.
Sweden (and any Scandinavian/Nordic countries, really) is notorious for its dark and cold winter, which sometimes can feel like it stretches for 6 or 9 months. But if anything, there’s at least the bright side of this: it contributes to the birth of Nordic Noir. At least, that’s what I think.
I’m a big fan of crime novels, and there’s something about Swedish crime novels that gives them an edge over similar books set in other countries. The dark atmosphere, the complex mysteries, the twisted plots, and the well-developed characters and their quirks (usually cold and reserved) — it all blends well into riveting stories.
