Linda Olsson Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Linda Olsson is a Swedish author who currently resides in Auckland, New Zealand from where she writes her contemporary fiction. She first got into writing with the publishing of the international bestseller “Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs”, that was so popular that it was translated into over a dozen languages. Olsson herself writes in Swedish and English. Linda was born in Stockholm in 1948 and has lived in a variety of countries including Japan, Britain, Singapore, and Kenya before she settled in New Zealand. With more than five international bestsellers to her name she garnered international critical acclaim and much commercial success. Born to working class parents, Olsson went to the University of Stockholm from where she graduated with a law degree, after which she went on to work in finance and banking. She soon got married and had three children from her marriage before she left Sweden in 1986 to go take up a job in Nairobi Kenya. But that was just the first of her wanderings, as she spent the following few years in several countries before settling down in New Zealand in 1990. She went back to school and attended Victoria University to complete her bachelor’s degree before proceeding to the University of Wellington where she got her degree in German and English literature. She now spends her time between her Swedish homeland and Auckland her new home.

Linda Olsson got her first big break as a writer when she was the winner of the Short Story Competition by the Sunday Star Times. In 2005, she published her first award winning novel “Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs”, which went on to become an international success becoming published in more than 25 countries and winning several awards in its native Sweden. Her other novels have also been highly successfull and gone on to be published across the world. Linda has worked with Thomas Sainsbury and written some of her novels under the pen name Adam Sarafis. The first product of that collaboration was the 2015 published “Something is Rotten”, the first of “The Matakana Trilogy”. Professionally, Olsson has toured and attended festivals across New Zealand and extensively In Southern Europe, the Nordic countries, and Eastern Europe.

Linda Olsson’s debut “Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs” is a critically acclaimed novel that brought Olsson’s name into the limelight. Published by Penguin the bestselling title follows the story of a young women that moves to a new country and makes friends with one of the most unlikely of people – an elderly woman. Over the course of the narrative, Linda excellently tells a story of personal loss and grief in the life of the two women. The author stitches together disparate stories in the lives of the two women to make for a huge tapestry that comes together in one emotional story arc. It is a poignant, tender, powerful yet subtle novel following the development of friendship in the lives of two women. “Sonata for Miriam”, Olsson’s second novel was another bestselling novel that was a success in most of Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and across the pond in the United States. The skillfully balanced novel is a touching narrative about a man on a quest to understand his past and the secrets that have been hidden from him for far too long. It talks about how critical it is to talk about painful things in one’s life and more than anything about love.

Linda Olsson’s novels are beautiful narratives about the unusual and beautiful nature of relationships between human beings. She writes her novels in the serene tone in evenly paced plots. While the novels are told in an urgent pace coupled with a suspenseful or dramatic plot elements, the novels unfold sympathetically and gently to stir genuine interest and intimacy with its readers. Even in instances when the characters relive some of the most traumatic of events, the novels are intriguing in the hopeful outlook of the characters, depiction of natural beauty, and the poetic language. The characters always remain hopeful to dare to love again and overcome whatever obstacles are in their path. Olsson’s writing evokes emotion through excellent descriptions of the places and emotions and character of the persons in her stories. You can always feel the pain of loss, the love, and the passion of the characters in the novels in a very experiential and realistic way. As the characters explore their lives, it becomes very clear how significant their pasts have been in influencing their current perspectives, choices, and attitudes in life.

“Astrid and Veronica” otherwise known as “Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs” is a novel about loss and love set in Sweden. Veronika is a young author recently moved to Sweden from New Zealand, and is living next door to a reclusive elderly woman. On the other hand, Astrid the elderly woman has been a resident of the small town for most of her life. The two soon bump into each other and share bits and pieces of their lives and become fast friends. It is not long before the women come up with some little rituals such as singing songs, drinking wine and picking mushrooms together. Through their friendship, they learn the values of sincerity, patience, and kindness and learn to open up their hearts that they believed were locked up forever. It is a novel of the unlikely but tender friendship between two women who through sharing and exploring rediscover their ability to heal and to hope.

In “Sonata for Miriam” the second novel of the series, Olsson explores memories from the past, love, choices, and loss. She analyzes how one decision could reverberate through the years and significantly impact a person’s life and those he relates with. Adam the lead visits Auckland Domain Museum’s Holocaust Gallery, which changes his life and sets him on a course to come to terms with his past. He sees the picture of a man named Adam Lipski who has a striking resemblance to him and becomes obsessed with finding out about him. His quest takes him across Sweden and Poland as he looks for Clara who was the sister to Lipski, as he believes she can tell him more about the man. It is only the beginning of a journey back into his childhood that will have him reconcile himself with his childhood and reveal more than he ever hoped to unearth.