Summary:
Yesterday’s News begins
with Agnes, a small-town girl lost in a sea of woe in big city
Stockholm. She’s been fired by an abusive boss, dumped by an unfaithful
boyfriend and victimized by her own optimism. Agnes is depressed,
despondent and ready for a change. But as the nature of change dictates,
Agnes has no idea how wild a ride she’s in for – nor how complete her
transformation will be.
Yesterday’s News begins
with Agnes, a small-town girl lost in a sea of woe in big city
Stockholm. She’s been fired by an abusive boss, dumped by an unfaithful
boyfriend and victimized by her own optimism. Agnes is depressed,
despondent and ready for a change. But as the nature of change dictates,
Agnes has no idea how wild a ride she’s in for – nor how complete her
transformation will be.Having already touched the hearts and minds of over 800,000 Scandinavian readers, “Yesterday’s News is ultimately a feel-good story that is about following and nourishing your dreams,” says Ingemarsson. And with a feature film based on Yesterday’s News currently in production, what better time for this sensational Swedish story to become accessible to North American readers?
Release Date: May 2012 (for North America)
Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Stockholm Text
Source: Review copy from publisher
Review:
Having read and enjoyed Stieg Larsson's The Millenium trilogy, I was intrigued by an email asking for a review of Swenden's #1 non-crime writer, Kajsa Ingemarsson. Yesterday's News sounded like the antithesis of Stieg Larsson's work (I believe it is classified as contemporary women's fiction) and, intrigued by the summary, I happily accepted the book for review.
I really enjoyed Yesterday's News! One of my complaints about The Millenium trilogy was the fact that it was set in Sweden, thus making the reference points hard to follow. I had a hard time following the geographical location of the towns in Larsson's books, and such mundane things as subway stops and street names became confusing. He constantly referenced events in Sweden's past which I had no knowledge of, and in fact, I had to constantly flip back and forth from reading the book to the appendix to better understand what was going on.
Happily for me, none of that was a concern with Yesterday's News. I was able to completely understand everything that was going on. Ingemarsson's writing style flowed and was easy to follow, and most importantly, fun to read. I just love it when I look forward between reading stints to when I can pick a book back up!
I really liked Agnes. She was something of a mystery to me: I could never predict her actions or decisions. I like that in a character. I think unpredictability keeps things interesting. Agnes was one of those characters that I could really relate to. She constantly sees the good in people, and that leaves her open to heartache. She is surprised at people when they don't treat her the way she would treat them, and, consequently, is hurt by some of the people in her life. Agnes doesn't let those circumstances define her, though. She is always able to pick herself up and start afresh, whether in her career or her love life.
One of my favorite things about Yesterday's News was the fact that much of the book centers around the start-up of a restaurant. I love food, love eating, and therefore, love reading about restaurants. Agnes is a head waitress and after losing her job at a prominent high-end restaurant, she works with an old colleague who is starting up his own restaurant. Agnes is involved in many of the decisions, including the name and decor of the new restaurant, and I loved watching the dream of the new restaurant come to pass.
I loved the ending of Yesterday's News. It was a great ending, without being too sappy, and left some things open to the reader's imagination. I like that in a book!
I would say that Kajsa Ingemarsson's writing style reminds me a lot of one of my favorite author's writing: Heather Wardell (an American women's fiction author). That fact only served to increase my enjoyment of Yesterday's News.
I would recommend this book to fans of contemporary fiction, and fans of women's fiction. I would definitely read Kajsa Ingemarsson again!
Having read and enjoyed Stieg Larsson's The Millenium trilogy, I was intrigued by an email asking for a review of Swenden's #1 non-crime writer, Kajsa Ingemarsson. Yesterday's News sounded like the antithesis of Stieg Larsson's work (I believe it is classified as contemporary women's fiction) and, intrigued by the summary, I happily accepted the book for review.
I really enjoyed Yesterday's News! One of my complaints about The Millenium trilogy was the fact that it was set in Sweden, thus making the reference points hard to follow. I had a hard time following the geographical location of the towns in Larsson's books, and such mundane things as subway stops and street names became confusing. He constantly referenced events in Sweden's past which I had no knowledge of, and in fact, I had to constantly flip back and forth from reading the book to the appendix to better understand what was going on.
Happily for me, none of that was a concern with Yesterday's News. I was able to completely understand everything that was going on. Ingemarsson's writing style flowed and was easy to follow, and most importantly, fun to read. I just love it when I look forward between reading stints to when I can pick a book back up!
I really liked Agnes. She was something of a mystery to me: I could never predict her actions or decisions. I like that in a character. I think unpredictability keeps things interesting. Agnes was one of those characters that I could really relate to. She constantly sees the good in people, and that leaves her open to heartache. She is surprised at people when they don't treat her the way she would treat them, and, consequently, is hurt by some of the people in her life. Agnes doesn't let those circumstances define her, though. She is always able to pick herself up and start afresh, whether in her career or her love life.
One of my favorite things about Yesterday's News was the fact that much of the book centers around the start-up of a restaurant. I love food, love eating, and therefore, love reading about restaurants. Agnes is a head waitress and after losing her job at a prominent high-end restaurant, she works with an old colleague who is starting up his own restaurant. Agnes is involved in many of the decisions, including the name and decor of the new restaurant, and I loved watching the dream of the new restaurant come to pass.
I loved the ending of Yesterday's News. It was a great ending, without being too sappy, and left some things open to the reader's imagination. I like that in a book!
I would say that Kajsa Ingemarsson's writing style reminds me a lot of one of my favorite author's writing: Heather Wardell (an American women's fiction author). That fact only served to increase my enjoyment of Yesterday's News.
I would recommend this book to fans of contemporary fiction, and fans of women's fiction. I would definitely read Kajsa Ingemarsson again!
Sounds really interesting. I love those characters that keep you guessing, it's more intriguing than the open book ones. This isn't the kind of book I'd usually go for, but I might take a look, given your great review. I'm your newest follower!
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