Maria Sveland wrote her novel Bitter Bitch in 2007. I’m reading it now. Took me 11 years getting my thumb out!! I could write pages telling you what the delay did not depend on. What did cause the delay, however, is a simple matter. I locked myself up in an aversion to Maria Sveland.
And why then? Nobody remembers the interview that Hanna Hellqvist made with her in the TV series The pursuit of happiness. It was 2011 so you’re excused if you forgot what Maria said that day. They talked about relationships between men and women, when Maria Sveland said: ”what’s dangerous is when we have this ideal that this will last life-long”. ”It’s really dangerous, because then you can make sure you’ll be disappointed.”
This etched itself into my mind. Because I thought, ”What the heck are you saying!” Maybe I expected her to say something wise like ”the real danger is when we have this ideal that we must always be so damn happy.” And then she sits instead advising us not to commit ourselves too much to avoid disappointment. Is this what life is about, I thought, upset. Not to be disappointed!
That’s why I haven’t read Bitter Bitch until now. I had this impression of a woman who did not want or did not dare to live wholeheartedly.
It was Poet Louise Halvardsson who was roused from lethargy by Louise saying, ”In the books, the main character is very passionate and wants to love and also does so, but at the end of te day she has been deceived too many times …”
This passion is what I had missed in listening to Maria Sveland that time. But I trusted Louise when she said she saw the passion of the novel’s main character. So I read the book. And I was happy!
You may not always find your way to express what you think and feel when sitting in a TV studio. In the novel Bitter Bitch, Maria Sveland is clear. The main character Sara really seeks ways to live, with her passion for life unscathed. That’s exactly what the novel is about. A woman’s attempt to affirm the passion in her life and not always just adapt to others.
I have not read Bitter Bitch 2 yet. But I will.
Ellington