The Eighth House
Linda Segtnan
Translated by Elizabeth Clark Wessel
25 April 2024
9781804185742304 pages
Synopsis
'This is an extraordinary book. It moves in and around you like a ghost. I feel lucky to have experienced it' -- Daisy Johnson - author of Everything Under
In the archives of the national library, a researcher named Linda sees a nine year-old girl's face in the pages of a yellowed newspaper, and the seed of an obsession is planted in her mind.
Birgitta Sivander was brutally murdered one night in May 1948. The culprit was never found. Linda feels a deep connection to Birgitta, and in the months that follow she compulsively researches the case.
Meanwhile, a life is taking root inside Linda; she is to have a daughter of her own. As she grapples with the wonder and anxiety of motherhood, she gradually pieces together Birgitta's story, closing in on the possible killer.
Driven to redeem a lost child, Linda must find a way to lay Birgitta to rest. Moving and unputdownable, The Eighth House is a shattering examination of why cycles of violence persist, and an invocation of the hope that new life brings.
In the archives of the national library, a researcher named Linda sees a nine year-old girl's face in the pages of a yellowed newspaper, and the seed of an obsession is planted in her mind.
Birgitta Sivander was brutally murdered one night in May 1948. The culprit was never found. Linda feels a deep connection to Birgitta, and in the months that follow she compulsively researches the case.
Meanwhile, a life is taking root inside Linda; she is to have a daughter of her own. As she grapples with the wonder and anxiety of motherhood, she gradually pieces together Birgitta's story, closing in on the possible killer.
Driven to redeem a lost child, Linda must find a way to lay Birgitta to rest. Moving and unputdownable, The Eighth House is a shattering examination of why cycles of violence persist, and an invocation of the hope that new life brings.
'This is an extraordinary book. It moves in and around you like a ghost. I feel lucky to have experienced it'Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under
'Brilliant. Incisive and unique, sometimes sad, but always clear-sighted and gripping'Sara Baume
'Linda Segtnan audaciously faces her own worst fears as a mother in a book at once devastatingly moving, rigorously thoughtful and sweepingly ambitious'Lara Feigel, author of The Bitter Taste of Victory
