"Childhood is a no-man's-land" proclaims this lucidly written autobiographical novel from distinguished Swedish author/critic Pleijel. It chronicles a difficult 1950s upbringing. With her warm yet self-absorbed professor father and depressed, hypercritical pianist mother incessantly at each other's throats, Neta ends up full of fear, doubt, and self-loathing, always taking blame on herself. - Library Journal. “Deeply inquisitive… A delicate study of a young girl's maturation, airy and filled with imagery of light…funny, familiar, and profound.” –KIRKUS REVIEWS. Agneta Pleijel: the primary concerns in her novels are ethics, love, the role of art, and individual responsibility.