Song for an Approaching Storm - Softcover

Peter Fröberg Idling

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1782270124 ISBN 13: 9781782270126

Publisher: Pushkin Press, 2014

Synopsis

Cambodia, 1955. The country is on the brink of a major change, with the first democratic elections just around the corner. In the midst of the frenzy, we meet Sar-a quiet, likeable man in his early thirties who is campaigning for the opposition, but secretly working for an armed Communist takeover. Many years later, he will become known to the world as Pol Pot. Now, Sar is thinking about Somaly, the woman he is engaged to be married to and wants to build a life with. The outcome of the election will determine whether they have a future together. With his personal and political life at stake, Sar has everything to lose when his political rival, vice premier Sary, also notices the beautiful Somaly, and takes up the struggle for her affection. And of course Somaly-young, bored, beautiful-has an agenda of her own. Over the course of thirty days, and against the backdrop of political power games, a love triangle unfolds in the sweltering summer heat, in an atmosphere tense with ambition.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Froeberg Idling was born in Stockholm 1972. He began working as a freelance journalist during university and, after graduating from law school, spent two years in Cambodia as legal advisor to a human rights organization. He published Pol Pot's Smile in 2006. Song for an Approaching Storm, his first novel, was published in Sweden in 2012 to great acclaim. It is being translated into eight languages. Peter is now based in Stockholm, with his partner and two children, dividing his time between literary criticism and work on his second novel.

Review

I wonder if I've ever read a debut novel as good ... as in the fiction of Marguerite Duras and Graham Green the tension between Power and Eros is hard as steel in [this] brilliant novel. SR Kulturnytt An impressive work of fiction, not just about a horrendous time but also about man's ability to be both victim and executioner Expressen An exciting and thought-provoking novel ... this year's best Norrkopings Tidningar Add Song for an Approaching Storm by Peter Froberg Idling to your bookshelf. It's a tormented love story weaved inside a political thriller in south-east Asia - the language is like poetry. Company An exquisite portrayal of complex emotion, of how people are shaped and coerced by their context. Overwhelming. Arbetarbladet This is in the James Ellroy and Mario Vargas Llosa department! Peter Froberg Idling's political thriller is the same kind of feverish sweat-stained fiction/non-fiction ... a fully developed piece and cannot but be one of the finest literary debuts in decades, at least. -- Boras Tidning The atmosphere he creates is mysterious and frightening; his prose is poetic and compact. Froberg has joined the best tradition of (neo-)colonial novels, with Marguerite Duras and Graham Greene as his predecessors. -- Sofie Messeman Trouw Letter & Geest Froberg impresses with his analysis and atmosphere, fostering empathy, understanding and memory. -- Alexander van Caeneghem De Standaard Beautifully evocative...must-read novel. Daily Mail So assured it is hard to believe it is a debut ... [a] fine novel Sunday Telegraph Idling has climbed inside the mind of a tyrant, and it makes the blood run cold; this is also a wonderfully evocative picture of a chaotic country about to explode into war, where "torrential rain makes the street look as if the surface is coming to the boil". Brilliant. The Times It's rare to come across such a confident debut novel... [an] exceptional, vibrant and tense piece of historical fiction The Lady

About this edition

• Publisher: Pushkin Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1782270124
• ISBN 13: 9781782270126
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288