The Father by Anton Svensson | Review *8/10 Stars*
12:30 AM
by Anton Svensson
Page Count: 592
Published: March 24th 2016
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Crime
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Crime
Source: I received a paperback ARC from the publisher for an honest review (Thank you!)
Summary
Inspired by the unbelievable true story of how three brothers came to be Sweden's most wanted criminals, written by the fourth brother...
How does a child become a criminal? How does a father lose a son?
An epic crime novel with the excitement of Jo Nesbo's Headhunters and the depth of We Need to Talk About Kevin, THE FATHER is a work of fiction, inspired by the extraordinary true story of three brothers who held Sweden to ransom, committing ten audacious bank robberies over just two years (in the early 1990s) and who rewrote Swedish criminal history.
None had committed a crime before. All were under 24 years old. All of them would be changed forever.
In this intoxicating, heart-breaking thriller, the fourth brother, who was not involved in the real robberies, tells of three boys who grew from innocent children to become public enemy number one - and of the father who made them that way. This is a gripping story about a family, about the bonds of brotherly love and the complex relationship between fathers and sons.
The Father is the first part of a two-part series, with the second part, The Son, to publish in hardback in 2017.
The verdict
To be honest, I had trouble getting into this book when I first started reading it. I could feel that the story is definitely going somewhere though, so I just had to push myself to keep reading for the first six chapters or so. And I was right. The Father did get interesting and sucked me in soon enough!
I love flashbacks, switching viewpoints between 'then' and 'now' in stories I read and even dramas and TV series. I would strongly recommend this book for the character development and the effortless narration that you don't even realize growing on you and pulling you in. I enjoyed watching the bonds between the brothers, their insecurities, their love and their overall emotional development throughout.
The descriptions were so detailed and vivid, I could almost hear my footsteps crunching on the gravel, feel the snow melting around my boots, smell the rusty notes of dripping blood, and take in the Swedish scenery while everything unfolded as if I was right there. Yup. That vivid.
I am not a fan of regular, predictable crime novels. The Father is anything but. A unique take on a true story of crime, violence, roots and family, I would recommend it to you. Even if you don't read true crime. Trust me. You won't be disappointed.
About the authors
While Thunberg achieved fame as a screenwriter, the rest of his family became infamous in an entirely different way: his father and brothers were Sweden's most notorious bank robbers, dubbed Militärligan (The Military Gang) by the media. The Father is Stefan Thunberg's debut novel.
Anders Roslund is an award-winning investigative journalist and one of the most successful and critically acclaimed Scandinavian crime writers of our time. Roslund is part of the New York Times bestselling author duo Roslund & Hellström, who are recipients of many prestigious awards, including the CWA International Dagger, the Glass Key and the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers' Award, and who boast sales exceeding five million copies.Films and TV series based on Roslund & Hellström's novels are in the works, both in Hollywood and Europe. The Father is Anders Roslund's seventh novel and the first he has co-authored with Stefan Thunberg.
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