'Bear Dance': A Scandinavian thriller for the New Year's holidays

By: Nina Bunjevac Salkić

Although we know little and sporadically about Scandinavian literature in our region, recently more and more readers, especially fans of good crime novels, are reaching for literature from the far north.

Tired of American thrillers, we have apparently sought refuge in a somewhat different expression, primarily from Swedish authors. The novel "Bear Dance", by authors Roslund and Thunberg, its title evokes memories of brutal bear fights. Their strong embrace is a path to death. Members of a family, where "sticking together" is an imperative imposed by a violent father, are also in such a fatal embrace. Three boys are daily exposed to brutality, and such a upbringing inevitably leaves consequences.

Resistance to the father will lead to the young men's independence, but it will not separate them almost until the very end. They will become the most enigmatic, but also the most innovative bank robbers, whom only someone who has gone through the same or a similar life path can stop.

The novel "Bear Dance" can be called an intelligent thriller, and the dynamic plot holds the reader's attention from the first to the last page. However, an even stronger psychological conflict between father and son emerges from the fierce crime story, meaning we encounter a real family drama that does not leave us indifferent. This is a novel about family, about fathers and sons, about brotherly love, about the fears that each of us carries within.

In the end, the exciting story transcends the framework of light reading and becomes true literature.

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The author of the review is the director of the General Library of Maglaj.