Equally erotic and shrewd, the latest from Bohman (Drowned) reads like a confession, or diary…The author’s prose is breathtaking, oscillating between her narrator’s tumultuous feelings toward her lover and the narrator’s curiosity—and occasional disdain—for the world around her… An elegant, rich take on an age-old narrative.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“A woman with an almost Dostoevskian loneliness becomes the other woman in this novel of class and passion…Philosophical, passionate, and pensive—[The Other Woman] explores the psychology of both intimacy and lust.” —Kirkus Reviews
“The Other Woman hooks the reader with a captivating voice and a dramatic spin on a story we’ve all heard before…This captivating, character-driven tell-all provides the reader with a unique insight…And [Bohman’s] bashfully, charming leading lady keeps you hooked until the very last page.” —New York Daily News
“A mesmerizing page-turner.” —New York Journal of Books
“Bohman has crafted an intriguing, intelligent novel about the vagaries of female existence without sacrificing the character’s perspicacity or, indeed, the traits that make her an occasionally unlikeable character.” —Popmatters
“In an inspired twist, Bohman…tosses out a moral question that involves not just one of the two other women but both of them. [This] lifts Therese Bohman’s novel far above the typical story of female jealousy.” —Counterpunch
“[The Other Woman brings] satisfaction even to the most jaded reader.” —Seeing The World Through Books
“Therese Bohman strikes the right balance between lavish prose and simple storytelling—allowing her books to be both beautiful literary objects and vehicles which engage readers through larger ideas.” —The Quarterly Conversation
“[The Other Woman] bursts with intellectual prowess. It’s witty, provocative and thoughtful about money, class, what it is to have less and desire more, to be educated and smart but not particularly suited to anything…This is the best novel I’ve read so far this year.” —Entertainment Realm
“A really well-done literary novel about an affair between a young woman and an older married man. From my perspective it was almost painfully psychologically accurate, and the ending was so undramatic and realistic it came as a surprise. I really was expecting something completely different and was very happy to be wrong.” —Boston Bibliophile Blog
“The Other Woman by Therese Bohman illustrates the tension of contemplating a new romance and falling in love…Bohman combines exquisite details of setting, timing and each character’s unique voice, urging you to read faster, or stay awake to read more and more, as the story moves through twists and turns…Bohman’s intuitive sense of character, psychological twists, passion, and humor creates a fast-paced storyline that readers will devour and share with friends.” —Blogcritics
“Engaging.” —Woman Around Town
“Bohman has a nose for danger: Her characters are curiously, alarmingly awake, and a story we should all know well is transformed into something wondrous and strange. A disturbing, unforgettable book.” —Rufi Thorpe, author of The Girls from Corona del Mar
“An uncannily perfect, deceptively simple, deeply satisfying literary bulls-eye about sex, friendship, class, work, gentrification, ambition, and the self.” —Elisa Albert, author of After Birth
“The Other Woman is an utterly propulsive and intoxicating narrative of obsession, status, and social class. Therese Bohman’s honest, intelligent, comedic, and contradictory narrator is one I’ve been searching for in every novel I’ve read; I’m thrilled to have finally found her.” —Chloe Caldwell, author of Women
★ 12/07/2015
Equally erotic and shrewd, the latest from Bohman (Drowned) reads like a confession, or diary, as it chronicles the budding relationship between a nameless female hospital cafeteria employee, and an older, married doctor. Dissatisfied with her station, and longing to one day complete a writing degree, the nameless woman, also the novel’s narrator, strikes up a friendship with Dr. Carl Malmberg one evening when he offers her a lift home. One ride leads to another, and before long, she welcomes Carl into her shabby apartment. Their affair flourishes and turns increasingly risqué, yet—despite her new beau’s enthusiasm—she regularly wonders how long such a liaison can last without heartbreak. The author’s prose is breathtaking, oscillating between her narrator’s tumultuous feelings toward her lover and the narrator’s curiosity—and occasional disdain—for the world around her. In brilliant asides, she questions her own loyalty toward women, speaks frankly about her sexual aura, considers the ease with which men survive, and shares the rules to being a proper mistress (no lipstick, no perfume, and never adjust the passenger’s seat). Despite the low page count, Bohman finds room to let her characters breathe, and this brings them to life so much that, by the time a third-act twist revealed by the narrator’s new friend Alexandra smacks of too-convenient storytelling, you’re already fully committed to the author’s wild concoction. An elegant, rich take on an age-old narrative. (Feb.)
2015-12-07
A woman with an almost Dostoevskian loneliness becomes the other woman in this novel of class and passion. The unnamed narrator has a job that's seen as the lowliest in the hospital where she works—she's a food worker who serves and cleans up after the doctors, nurses, and staff. She's also, however, something of an intellectual, with an avid interest in Baudelaire, Thomas Mann, and especially the Dostoevsky of Notes from Underground. She struggles with the meaninglessness of her existence but holds out hope that someday she'll write a novel. Partly out of boredom with her life in Norrköping, southwest of Stockholm, she begins to flirt with Carl Malmberg, a doctor on staff at the hospital. Malmberg starts giving her rides home, and eventually she invites him in. Thus begins a passionate relationship with the married doctor, who is close to twice her age and has grown children. At first the narrator is carried away by the passion, though she has difficulty separating her feelings about the relationship from her feelings on finally having something to write about in her hypothetical novel. Things become really entangled when the narrator begins to share all the intimate aspects of her relationship with Alexandra, a free spirit who turns out to have connections of her own to the doctor—and a desire to get revenge on him. Philosophical, passionate, and pensive—a novel that explores the psychology of both intimacy and lust.
