In Every Moment We Are Still Alive

December 4, 2017
Malmquist presents a moving portrait of the disorientation of grief in this heady debut novel. It opens with a frantic, prolonged blow-by-blow account of the emergency hospital visit during which Tom’s pregnant partner, Karin, is diagnosed with fast-acting leukemia. Days after her diagnosis, Tom becomes a bewildered new parent to premature daughter Livia, while mourning his partner, who dies shortly after giving birth. Tom stumbles forward while flashing back to earlier, happier times with Karin. He frankly recounts his jealousies and her fears of abandonment. The slippage in time illustrates the strange logic of grief, which catapults the bereaved back through random memories. In the midst of these moments, Malmquist offers a stinging satire of the bureaucratic processes ill-equipped to cope with an unmarried single father whose partner has died.
A final note of hope that avoids making sense of pain rounds out this beautiful, raw meditation on earth-shattering
personal loss.

Simon Vance brings his considerable narration skills to Swedish writer Tom Malmquist's autobiographical novel. Tom rushes his pregnant partner, Karin, to the hospital. Her flu-like symptoms turn out to be acute leukemia, and though the baby survives an emergency delivery, Karin dies soon afterwards. Vance's narration places listeners firmly inside Tom's head. The present-tense stream-of-consciousness style is especially effective in capturing the confusing, often absurd, experience of a medical emergency. Following the tragedy, Tom recounts his memories of Karin, along with his difficult path forward. His raw feelings are palpable, but Vance's strong delivery, evoking the author's stiff upper lip and sense of humor, encourages listeners to carry on through even the darkest times. A.T.N. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine