Magma

A harrowing tale of domestic abuse told in a way that I’ve never really seen this depicted before. Realistic and withering, it explores the intimate details that are rarely seen abc quite frankly difficult to see. A must read for everyone.

Release Date: Expected 8th July 2021

Genre: Fiction | Novella

Trigger Warning: This novel contains in depth depictions of abusive relationships, self-harm, graphic language, sex and mentions of rape.

Lilja has fallen in love with him. He's beautiful and so much smarter than her, he cooks perfectly balanced vegetarian meals and reads in latin. He is perfect in every way, and she is obsessed with him. Soon she finds herself living in his flat, eating his food, sharing his bed and his shower as she tries to become the perfect person for him so he will stop f*cking other women and fall in love with her too. Fully blinded to his manipulations, she doesn't realise how much she is losing herself to get him until it's too late.

Magma was haunting and addictive from the first page, I felt the obsession and despair deep in my stomach as Lilja was gripped tighter by her manipulating lover and started to act more and more like the "Crazy Girlfriend" that men create and then complain about. She doesn't ask for committment, she tries her best to please him so she finally feels she is enough.

I saw myself and many of the women I know in the pages of this book and my heart broke a thousand times over - in the way she began to doubt herself, make excuses for him, in the way she broke down in such small peices that she never even realised.

Utterly unique and captivating, written in a disjointed but somehow fluid style that kept me both extremely uncomfortable but desperate to know more. It burned slowly, like magma, so slow you almost don't realise anything has happened until you're in too deep.

Completely devoid of information, we never know his name or what he looks like - but somehow it was still so visceral and real where it mattered.

Magma read like poetry, like a series of daydreams and nightmares blending seamlessly into one another until the sudden and abrupt ending snaps us awake. It felt like just the end of a chapter and left my head spinning and desperate to know more - just like reality. The translation was flawless, nothing was lost at all.


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Thank you to Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Magma is a very short novella (I finished it in a few hours), but it’s one of those stories that packs a punch and stays with you for a long time. Written in an almost diary-entry like fashion, we see snippets of young Lilja’s life as she meets a man, gets trapped into an abusive relationship and falls into depression.

Although it’s a short story it’s very well paced which helps to keep you hooked at all points. The chapters are each named and are very short with most no more than a page or two long and some even being a paragraph. The chapters all revolve around a theme and some are written in flashback as well but this isn’t confusing. You empathise immediately with Lilja and although she makes some very silly decisions you can see why she does them as you really get into her mindset which stops this from becoming too frustrating.

The structure of the novel is also well thought out and although the ending took me by surprise and is very depressing it matches the story very well and leaves you with a lot to think about. The translation is very well done as well and nothing jarred or stood out, the writing is quite beautiful and flowed well which juxtaposes the theme of the book nicely.

Overall, Magma isn’t a happy read but it’s a powerful one. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan – Picador for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.