| The Swedish graphic novelist perfectly captures the rush, confusion and pain of a marriage exploded by unexpected attraction Elise, a fiftysomething writer, has work that she enjoys, a husband of 23 years with whom she is “uncommonly happy”, and two grownup sons. If her life is uneventful, it’s also replete; she is content and (this is the more important thing) grateful for such contentment. But then, as if a heavy stone had been hurled into a tranquil pool, it happens. At a party, she meets Dagmar, and something inside her shifts. Back at home, she considers her body in the bathroom mirror and thinks vaguely of what it might be like to sleep with this woman – or anyone! – at this point in her life. It is unthinkable and yet, it’s about to happen. She and Dagmar start sending each other text messages. Quite soon after this, they go to bed with each other, and it is wonderful. Elise doesn’t lie to her husband. She tells him that she doesn’t want to leave him, but that she cannot stop herself from seeing Dagmar, and he makes his decision: they separate, and he begins a new relationship. But freedom doesn’t make life any easier for Elise, and not only because she misses Henrik so badly. Dagmar has a wife and two children, and she will not leave them for Elise – though neither will she break off with her. Live in the moment, she tells her lover; be happy with what we’ve got. But what have they got? Conversations conducted on cold park benches. Snatched weekends that are over almost before they’ve begun. An endless, lonely present. Which would be worse, Elise asks herself: a life without Dagmar, or this half-life of longing and WhatsApp? Is a little bit of Dagmar, however small, really better than nothing at all? And if it is, what does this say about the rest of their lives? Continue reading... |
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