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Room for personal reflection and evaluation in this novel
Book Review
By Derryll White
Lackberg, Camilla ( 2020). Silver Tears.
Camilla Lackberg presents her main character, Faye Adelheim, in a very straightforward manner. She is strong, intelligent and the head of a global business worth billions. Lackberg molds Faye as a modern woman equipped to succeed in what is still a man’s world.
She does take the reader back in time to a more rural Sweden and a younger Faye who was handled roughly by her family and the times. This younger girl is raped and abused. The mature Faye fights back, smart, powerful and not prepared to take any more crap from anyone.
The author is very clear here. She charts what a European woman needs to survive and be successful in the 21st century. She also clearly states what is required for a man to be a partner and companion to such a woman. It is a road map filled with insights.
The fact of the matter is, however, that Faye Adelheim resolves her problems by killing people. The reader doesn’t really come to that realization until quite late in the book. The author condones it, points to society’s inability to deal with rapists and abusers. She justifiably points out the ways men have mistreated women – then Faye kills them. The reader will find a lot of room for personal reflection and evaluation in this novel.
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Excerpts from the novel:
A WOMAN’S PLACE – Typical women, Faye thought to herself. Selling themselves short, unable to see their own worth. That was how we were raised. It’s what the world taught us. And the world is run by men who benefit from us wandering around in it only seeing our worth in relation to them.
GLASS CEILING – “The way they treat women there,” said Irene, making a face. “They’re just eye candy, they never get to rise through the ranks, they don’t listen to them. It’s as if they haven’t changed with the times.”
A MAN’S DUTY – Faye fell more in love with David with every minute she spent in his company. He was considerate and kind. Held the door open, pulled out her chair, insisted on paying for everything, bought her flowers and chocolate. Yet he was also modern in his views on equality in a completely straightforward way, and he could grasp that women were treated as second-class citizens in comparison to men. In the boardroom, in the street, in educational institutions. He was interested in what she had to say and asked follow-up questions. Not out of a sense of obligation, but because he was genuinely interested in her thoughts and opinions. His eyes sparkled when she spoke. He made her feel appreciated and loved in a way that Faye had never felt before.
TRUST – We women are raised to be so afraid that someone is going to steal our man – our partner – so we limit ourselves. We remain constantly vigilant for any signs of betrayal. I’m never going to live like that again. I was betrayed by Jack, but I am going to trust you. That’s my choice. Otherwise I’m committing violence on my own life. Limiting it. I hope you never let me down, but that is in your hands – not mine.”
THE JUSTIFICATION – Now she just wanted to destroy him for what he had done to their daughter, and for the humiliation he had heaped on Faye. For all the women who had been in her place, suppressed, feeling worthless, who had taken their lives, been deprived of their dignity. Who had been kept as serfs. Exploited. Women who were still shackled, even if the appearance of those shackles had changed over the centuries.
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.
