Grim suburbia meets magical realism in Carl Johan-Vallgren's bleak tale of sibling love, betrayal and redemption.Nella and her brother Robert live a difficult life with their mother and father in a small town on the west coast of Sweden. Robert is bullied at school, and Nella has to resort to debt and petty crime to pay off his tormentors. When she turns to her friend Tommy for help, her suspicions are aroused by the mysterious comings and goings of his brothers at their dilapidated fishing hut. But when she uncovers the reason behind their enigmatic behaviour, her life is opened to the realities of a mindboggling secret. The Merman is an exhilarating and beautiful book about sibling love and betrayal - and what happens when the mundane collides with the strange and wonderful.

Author Biography

Carl-John Vallgren is the author of eight novels. His The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot won the Swedish August Prize for novel of the year. He lives in Stockholm.