Mount Verity by Therese Bohman

translated from the original Swedish by Marlaine Delargy.

I’m going to be so for real here and admit that the main reason I picked up this book off my TBR pile was because it’s Swedish like my beloved Viktor Gyokeres. When you’ve come out of Etsy Witch retirement to support a guy, it’s hard not to feel emotionally invested, if not outright entangled, in his fortunes and interests and background, especially when the rewards have been so enriching (or maybe that’s just my delulu talking again, lol.)

But yes, I felt energetically obligated to read this short novel, and would like to thank the cosmos for bringing it my way. Mount Verity is the story of Hanna Hallman, from her youth in the Kolmarden, through attempts to establish herself as an artist in Gothenburg, then to her forties in Stockholm. Her relationships with two men anchor the narrative, as she’s repeatedly drawn back to the village where she grew up. One is her best friend: calm, handsome Marcus, who can’t wait to leave Krokek for a big city like Malmo, where his absent father lives. The other is her older brother Erik, who abruptly disappears in the wee hours of Easter morning, after midnight mass.

According to Erik’s friends, they had decided to bike to mass together for one of their obligatory pre-confirmation attendances. They’d had a few beers beforehand, then changed their minds about going back to one of the boy’s houses to continue drinking. Instead, they went up to Mount Verity, a nearby peak with a spooky legend attached to one of its caves. Allegedly, the cave was used during seventeenth century witch trials to “test” suspected witches. The accused were lowered into the cave and asked if they were witches. If they admitted it, they were pulled back up and punished. If they denied it, they were left to be swallowed by a cave said to devour liars.

The boys’ memories of the night are hazy but no one remembers when Erik parted ways with the rest of them. Search parties are sent out but there’s no sign of him, and no sign of foul play besides his disappearance. Hanna is twelve when he goes missing, and the loss haunts her for the rest of her life.

This novel explores Hanna’s trauma and how it never really goes away, even as she tries to figure out how to become her own person and, eventually, an artist. Author and arts journalist Therese Bohman does an extraordinary job of examining the life of a 21st century artist, from the exploration of media to the sometimes cynical marketing that fine artists are forced to engage in on multiple levels. I adore books that discuss art both intelligently and appreciatively, as this one absolutely does. Add to that its sensitive exploration of Hanna’s psyche and development, and you have an extraordinary examination of the undying nature of both grief and hope.

I suppose it’s somewhat coincidental that the moment I realized that Viktor was attractive was in a photo where he’s wearing glasses and looks like he’s about to hand me a book that made him think of me, even as he offers to rub my feet if I’d like to lie back on the sofa next to him and read. It’s not hard to imagine that Mount Verity would be the novel he’d hand me. Fortunately, I no longer need to imagine the actual pleasure I had of experiencing it.

Mount Verity by Therese Bohman was published April 7 2026 by Other Press and is available from all good booksellers, including