The Exception
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Four women work at the Danish Centre for Genocide Studies. When two of them start receiving death threats, they suspect they are being stalked by Mirko Zigic, a Bosnian torturer and war criminal. But perhaps he is not the person behind the threats – it could be someone in their very midst. Much of the drama created revolves not only around the scary sense of a killer prowling in the shadows but also around the manipulative games being played between the women in the office as they come under pressure and turn on each other. The irony is that these betrayals and persecutions are taking place amongst professionals who daily analyse cases of appalling cruelty. Now and again, the narrative is broken with extracts from ‘articles’ dealing with crimes against humanity and the psychology of evil. Whilst the women apply this to their work with genocide (and the killer), there are parallels to their own behaviour.
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Anna
Paterson
- Dr Anna Paterson translates from Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and German into English and writes literary journalism in English and Swedish. She used to work as a medical academic, specialising in experimental and clinical neuroscience. Since retiring, she has translated twenty-six books – a mixture of literary fiction and non-fiction – published mainly in the UK and the USA but also in Australia and Norway. She works for several English-language literary magazines. Between 2010 and 2015, she was reviews editor at Swedish Book Review. Most of Dr Paterson’s non-medical writing has been book reviews and articles on literary topics. She has also written a book about landscape, identity and environmental awareness in Scotland: Scotland’s Landscape: Endangered Icon. She is married to a Scot and lives in the Scottish countryside.
- Dr Anna Paterson translates from Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and German into English and writes literary journalism in English and Swedish. She used to work as a medical academic, specialising in experimental and clinical neuroscience. Since retiring, she has translated twenty-six books – a mixture of literary fiction and non-fiction – published mainly in the UK and the USA but also in Australia and Norway. She works for several English-language literary magazines. Between 2010 and 2015, she was reviews editor at Swedish Book Review. Most of Dr Paterson’s non-medical writing has been book reviews and articles on literary topics. She has also written a book about landscape, identity and environmental awareness in Scotland: Scotland’s Landscape: Endangered Icon. She is married to a Scot and lives in the Scottish countryside.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Jungersen’s novel combines the plot and suspense of a thriller with psychological realism, dealing with the moral and ethical problems of evil.