June 17th
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Pub Date 11 Feb 2027 | Archive Date 18 Feb 2027
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Description
‘Why is June 17th 1986 so important?’
‘I don’t know. Something happened that day’
Vidar is not himself. A mild-mannered teacher, he has been suspended for allegedly violently assaulting a student. He is aimless, agitated, distracted, so when he finds the number for his childhood summer home, he impulsively calls it. The phone is answered by his father – who has been dead for many years. Suddenly, a trapdoor to the past opens.
By calling at different times, Vidar discovers that he can call back to one day only: June 17th, 1986. As he maps out his family’s every move the unhappy realities of his childhood rise to the surface, and he comes to believe that that day may have some bearing on the incident with his student in which he is now the subject of a criminal investigation. As Vidar crosses boundary after boundary, and the day from his childhood gradually unfolds, the noose tightens in the present.
A devastating story by one of Sweden’s pre-eminent writers of how the harsh realities of the past inform the fragility of the present, June 17th is an addictively breath-taking journey through time, asking us: What shapes a human?
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781037205477 |
| PRICE | £18.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 256 |
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Buy on Bookshop.org Buy on WaterstonesAverage rating from 4 members
Featured Reviews
Lucy E, Reviewer
June 17th by Alex Schulman is a powerful and compelling read. I was immediately interested in the unusual premise of being able to telephone the past, and Vidar’s attempts to work out what happened on June 17th, 1986.
Interspersed with the phone calls to members of his family in 1986 is Vidar’s present-day story, and the two threads work together brilliantly. I was consistently intrigued and engaged, always wanting to know more, and found this a real page-turner. I read it in one sitting.
As everything is gradually pieced together, the book becomes a powerful exploration of family relationships, grief, and trauma, as well as an intriguing mystery. The ending is breathtaking and very powerful, but I really wanted a present-day epilogue. After everything we discover about Vidar’s childhood, I wanted to know that he was going to be alright in the present day. I felt I needed that little glimpse of what came next.
This was my first book by Alex Schulman, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from him. I received an ARC from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
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