The Survivors is translated into English from Swedish and the translator did a great job. The book reads like it was written in English.

The book is about a family with 3 boys who go to a cottage by the lake every summer. The family have some problems that is mostly solved by drinking. The boys seem to fend for themselves and explore the forest while there. Then one summer tragedy struck.

The book is written in the view of Benjamin, the middle son. It jumps from past to present with each chapter and ends with a twist which I really wasn’t expected.

Quick physiological thriller that’s well worth a read.

Three brothers return to the lake and cabin where they spent their childhood summers.
Twenty years ago their last summer there had life changing events for them all.
They are back to scatter their Mother's ashes as her wishes but it brings a lot of soul searching between the three.
They all have memories of that summer but is it the same memory?

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the only book I have read by this author and is likely to remain so.

The narrative is such a mess of time lines - I can cope with then and now but Now going backwards just messes too much with my mind. Three brothers grow up essentially alone in a remote area of Sweden. Their parents have neither time nor inclination to do anything in the way of caring for them. One brother seems to have a penchant for accidental injury - electrocution, drowning etc but a re they suicidal events or cries for help?

I know I could have cried for help in defining anything that suggested joined up thinking in the narrative. The twist at the end was really nothing that resembled a twist.

Not for me. As it was a short book i persevered to the end, but, by the time I got to the 'twist' I really didn't care. Because the time line jumps about, there is no continuity. I spent more time working out whether it was the present or past that it was a distraction to the plot. None of the characters were likeable. I'm sure some people will enjoy the book so I have given a generous 3*.

This is a dark and quite sad read. The novel has two distinct timelines: the past moving forward to the event and the present day moving backwards in hours, from scattering mum’s ashes, to the revelation that makes sense of the whole story.
The story focuses on three brothers - for a lot of the book I found it difficult to differentiate them but as the story progressed towards its conclusion, it became clearer.
There is a huge sadness / poignancy about the childhoods of the three boys, particularly when Benjamin realises about their home life comparing himself to his peers.
The last few pages of the book bring an understanding to the confusion and darkness of the and heaviness of the children’s early days. I found it a challenging read.

This book was superbly written. It pulled me in from the opening scene with such evocative language and descriptions that I couldn't wait to read the story that was about to unfold. I felt like I was part of every scene, such was the author's skill for description and prose. The story revolves around 3 brothers revisiting the family cottage from their childhood to scatter their mother's ashes and moves between the past and the present and why revisiting the cottage is so traumatic. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more from this author. This was a definite 5 star read for me. I was transported into the story and forgot I was reading.

“The Survivors” is the story of three brothers who return to their family cottage to scatter their mother’s ashes. The book begins almost at the end of the story but then chapters alternate between telling the reader about the early lives of the brothers and working backwards to describe what happened in the 24 hours before that opening chapter. We then discover the traumatic event that impacted everything that happened afterwards.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The details of the story and the way the chapters interlink is unbelievable. I am not a big re-reader of books but I almost want to look at this one again to look at how the information is drip fed to the reader and how each chapter interacts with the other. I really think it is a masterpiece. It is not a fast paced book but I found it gripping nonetheless and it is one of my favourite books I have read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This was such an interesting premise, and I just agree with other reviewers that there is definitely a sense of Ian McEwan about the writing.

I did find it a little confusing at times, the way the story flits between different parts, time periods, ages, and main narratives, which meant it was a longer read than I initially expected. It is very well written and, whilst I don’t mind depressing books, this is a hard book to read with some troubling topics. You will need to have your full wits about you with this one.

The relationship between these three brothers may be over the top and troubled, but there’s most certainly a side to them anyone with a sibling can relate to - very much a love/hate relationship.

The description is perfect and you can almost put yourself in the situation. You can feel the water of the lake lapping over your toes, feel the darkness of the forest encase you, and fear the drunken fights in the room next to you. You are able to imagine yourself as every character.

Renowned author Fredrik Backman states: “You’ll cry for these brothers: for the men they become, for the boys they were, for the innocence they lost.” And I think that encompasses the book - it’s simply heartbreaking.

This is a really emotional and haunting story. It is a slow steady story, which is quite a hard to read at times as it has a real sadness about it. The story touches on difficult family relationships, neglect, and grief. It focuses on the lives of three brothers all very different, with different recollections of their childhood and all of whom react differently to the events of that summer’s day. It is quite a difficult book to describe, especially without giving away any spoilers but it is well written and definitely worth a read.

Very intriguing! And an incredible twist!

I won’t lie, it took me a very long time to actually get into it, I always put it on the side to read others. But I decided to be resilient this time. And I am glad I did.

The relationship between the three brothers is definitely complicated! It was a bit difficult at times to know if it was the present or the past but I got there at the end.

It could be a tad faster for some scenes but the twist was worth the wait!

Thank you for an advance copy of this
beautifully written novel.

It's a great read though sometimes a little difficult to follow due to jumping back and forth between past and present.

I've had to take a few minutes to compose myself to write this review, so powerful is this story of three brothers who have gathered by their childhood holiday home to scatter the ashes of their late mother. Middle brother Benjamin is the narrator, and it's through his eyes that we see the family dynamics, between the brothers, between their parents, and between parents and sons. There's an air of casual neglect about the boys' upbringing, and Benjamin's memories are good and bad as he recalls fishing, swimming and playing with his brothers, and those precious times when he could get his father or mother to himself.
There is never any doubting the strong family unit even when the father is angry, the mother passively absent, the brothers, as children and as adults, physically tearing lumps out of each other.
It's all strong stuff that will resonate with anyone from a sibling group as the narrative veers backwards and forwards from present to past in a series of incidents, including one in particular that has affected Benjamin more than he can admit, even to himself.
This author has such a deep and solid understanding of family bonds, of love and grief and loss, and of how the past affects the present, that emotion leaps from every page, pulling the reader in as strongly as the current that once threatened to drown all three brothers as their parents slept the afternoon away.
I may be moving on to my next read but Nils, Benjamin and Pierre will stay with me for a long time, perhaps forever.

Three brothers travelling to their childhood home to scatter their mother’s ashes. A lifetime of neglect, brutality and abuse from parents who believe they show their children love but do not know the difference . Brothers all remembering childhood incidents each with a recollection completely different to the other. Cruelty inflicted as character building, memories distorted to allow a semblance of family life to survive in a world where each day takes on a form of warfare. And so, chapter after chapter three lives are revealed in the recollections of the quiet youngest, who sees and feels the most, dreads with accurate perception the onset of every dangerous incident and forms the ability to hide every trauma within a storyboard that saves him a degree of mental anguish and allows him the strength to face each day. A totally unexpected and shocking reveal in the final chapters leads to a conclusion as heartbreaking as the lives of these children. Many thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Fab book with a a great storyline! Really loved the authors work and will read more in the future. Such a great thriller for all lovers!

This is a grim read, it’s very hard to read in an emotional way, and when it comes to the way parents treat their offspring, can such behaviour be forgiven?
This story is about a journey of destruction and forgiveness. Children are ignored, and only periodically noticed, their opinions are not sought and they don’t matter. It’s harsh love to be sure, that sits uneasily alongside neglect, but , is this neglect deliberate or a clumsy attempt to make these three brothers independent and show reliance and dependence upon each other?
There is also drunkenness, violence and self doubt, sown amongst these brothers, that does lead to mental problems and emotional damage.
It’s a very hard, and heart wrenching novel, how parents treat their offspring, no warm clothes, a filthy house, scant attention paid to hygiene and cleanliness, but, it’s set in past times, and perhaps we are all too namby pamby with our children now wanting to micro manage every aspect of their lives. I remember times like this from my childhood in the 1950’s, but certainly not to that extent!! If it was cold, you put on extra clothes, most houses had outside toilets and no central heating, but we had love and affection, but it wasn’t the gushing type that is shown today.
A difficult read, but I’m glad I persevered. It’s hard to award a rating, perhaps a four star.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Little, Brown Book Group, for my ARC, in return for my honest, unbiased opinion and review, that is freely given. It was very thought provoking and uncomfortable. I will leave reviews to Goodreads and other outlets.

Half a story, requires one to buy the sequel, cynical

A 99p book on a Kindle special offer is all this is worth.

Simple and tedious, an author that has a long way to becoming good

I struggled with this book. I found this to be quite slow going and I did not enjoy the style of writing. As such I did not finish it. The final straw was the fish incident. I did not really see the point. There are other ways to show that the parents were alcoholics who allowed their three boys to run wild and do what they please.
Thank you to Net Galley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the advance copy of this book.

DNF at 20%

I just could not read on. It was absolutely heart wrenching and the urter disinterest that the parents had on the brothers made me feel uneasy. The way they were treated, which in turn made them treat each other direly, was just not for me, and I couldn't push on.

I didn't read much of this book as I really did not like the style or the story. The fish incident was just too much for me.

This story is about three brothers and their upbringing. The story is very sad from beginning to end and I could not tell where the story would go. The boys, Nils Pierre and Benjamin visit the same place every summer with their parents. The parents drank a lot and the dad could be quite cold and the mother also. The parents did not show much love although they probably did care for the children. They were left to their own devices and being all different characters sometimes life did not go well.

The boys grew up and grew apart and eventually came together when their mother became ill and passed away. The boys then talked about their youth and how they saw their childhood so differently. Benjamin was the one who felt it the most as he was the most sensitive. Nils switched himself off most of the time and Pierre was a law until himself and very care free. The book does jump about a lot from past to present and I did find that awkward especially reading at night but once I got into the swing of the writing I am pleased that I carried on with the book. It became more interesting once the boys found their mother’s wishes for her body after her death and as the boys tried to get the ashes before they were interred and were refused Pierre took it up himself to sort it out and it did make me smile with his audacity. They went back to the holiday home to execute their mother’s wishes after many years and this brought back many memories, some good and some had. I would recommend this book but it is one that you have to persevere with and at the end you will be grateful that you have as it is a very confusing but compelling one