Diva by Monika Fagerholm is on my all time top 10 chart, but for some reason it took me several months to get into reading her first novel. I read this book in Finnish, so I don't know if the translation's good, but I can assure you that it takes some work to spoil this brilliant book. Perhaps not quite as magical as Diva, this novel is in any case a wonderful study of childhood, family relationships and changes in society. There's always some sadness in Fagerholm's world, but it's sweet sadness, very close to a certain kind of numb satisfaction. Her style is unique. Strongly recommended.

This book is written in a captivating style. It is dreamy and innocent and lets the reader make his own conclusions. It celebrates summer, imagination and childhood (most of the book is narrated through Thomas, 9 years), but in the same time it is a melancholy book. I have read the book in Finnish and I hope that the English translation is as good. I sincerely recommend Wonderful Women by the Sea.

Monika Fagerholm's first novel is a marvelous evocation of Finland in the 60s, covering two Finland-Swedish families who meet every summer at their vacation homes. A big hit in Scandinavia, this novel should be of interest to American readers as well. Fagerholm is finishing a new novel in Swedish, Diva, which should be published soon.