Almost more of a character study of a woman suffering from a high fever. Stories of the past, of relationships both familial and romantic.

Excellent writing and quite enjoyable.

As she lies in bed with a fever, a woman is drawn deep into her memories. She revisits her past in the form of four people who greatly impacted her life.

1️⃣ I wasn’t immediately hooked. My initial thought was ‘oh, this is a standard aimless girl lit—it’ll be enjoyable but nothing amazing’, but my opinion changed as I moved deeper into the novel.

2️⃣ The main character anchors each section in the book with a different person from her past. It’s fascinating to see the subtle shifts in the character’s worldview and lens through her portrayals of these friends, lovers, etc. in different time periods of her life.

3️⃣ I love the narrative distance. Not only are these stories from her past, but they’re also remembered through the fog of fever. For every youthful mistake the reader may jump to judge, the main character has already distanced herself in time and space from that version of herself.

4️⃣ Translated text fascinates me. I really enjoyed this novel—but I also can’t escape the thought that I wasn’t fully reading Genberg’s words.

5️⃣ If you’re in the mood for some reflection, youthful energy and aimlessness, and an exploration of some of life’s biggest questions in a fairly short little book, check this one out.

I’m torn between one (I didn’t like it) and two (it was OK) stars. If someone asked me what this book was about, I’d be hard pressed to give any decent summary. It’s a series of reminiscences by a woman readers really don’t get to know, about four people who have influenced her life. Exactly how they influenced her remains unclear, since the woman herself remains largely undefined, as if all her reminiscences included no introspection. I settled on two stars, realizing that the fact that I’d highlighted multiple passages means I did enjoy this author’s writing even though the sum total of the novel left me cold.

I stuck with this book because it was short and because I’d committed to providing a review when I accepted the eARC from NetGalley. I had not requested it, but received an email from the publisher offering a copy. Others may react very differently, but for me, the narrative felt pointless.

2.5 stars rounded up -- If someone were to ask me how to describe this book, I wouldn't know what to say because I honestly have no idea. THE DETAILS contains 4 chapters with each focusing on a person who's played an important role in the narrator's life. It's reminiscent to a memoir; it could also be auto-fiction. We learn a lot about the aforementioned focused characters, but not nearly as much on the main character herself.

I don't think this book is for me, but it's undeniable that the writing definitely hits, at times amazing me with how the author manages to capture such personal - though now I realize they're perhaps universal after reading this book - thoughts and feelings. Ultimately, Genberg's novel is a compilation of obscure vignettes with no plot, whose strengths, in my opinion, lie largely in the writing that can pierce deeply, as well as the unpredictability of the story whose little twists and reveals can be surprising and evocative.

This was a really interesting book, more of a memoir feel. I liked the author's foray into the memories of her past.

Beautiful thoughtful story with gorgeous writing. The ending was stunning. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers!

AHHHH I LOVED THIS NOVEL SO MUCH IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED!!

A youngish woman is suffering from a bad fever and, in the throes of illness, looks back upon past relationships (romantic and otherwise). That’s all you need to know. If you appreciate gorgeous, lyrical writing that floats over a bleak undercurrent … check this out when it releases. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved the premise of this book - a woman reflecting on how four people have had a significant impact on her life. At times, I was hoping for more of a plotline to tie the characters and story together better, but I was also drawn into the character descriptions for each chapter. Overall, I am not quite sure what to make of this book now, but I could see myself re-reading and enjoying this book as I get older and have more of my own life to reflect on.

2.5 rounded up ~

sadly this one wasn't really my vibe - think I expected something really different. the voice and pace just felt slow and a little drab. i think some folks will really dig this one, but unfortunately it fell a little short for me.

appreciate the ARC all the same! <3

I just don’t think this book is for me. There were a lot of quotes that moved me but overall this book really dragged. I think it has a lot to do with the syntax. The paragraphs were just too long in ways that didn’t work for me.

A book that will stay with me.A feverish dream a look at a woman’s relationship friendships lovers.A book where she shares the books the authors she read her involvement with the novels the writing.This is a story that will stay with me .#netgalley #harpervia

I had never heard of this author prior to requesting this arc. Despite having finished this book several days ago, I wanted to sit on it and let my experience with the book settle because it left me feeling unlike any other book I've read before. This book really made me do some serious introspection about my relationships with people in my current life. It also made me ponder my ex relationships with people and the indelible mark they made on my future self. Did they make me a better person? A worse person? How much of them has remained with me despite several years passing since last seeing them? It was bittersweet to think about and something that I think I have subconsciously have been trying to avoid thinking about.

This book was excellent and MUCH deeper than I was expecting. I am actually going to re-read this because I think there will be even more to appreciate on a second read. I know that I'll be thinking about this book for the rest of my life and has made me want to be a better person.

Thank you for opening my mind and heart. 5/5 stars absolutely.

I truly enjoyed this book and the stories and “the detail” put into all the remembrances. Such a fascinating book that will hold you until the end. The relationships and the dialogue was written so clearly and fresh. It reads like a fever dream of a life. Those times, eras, moments we go back to and think of. We replay them and forget them at different times of our life. I really can’t describe this book yet as enthralled by it. I read a NetGalley version of it.

The Details is a special book, with some very keen observations about relationships, break ups, family, and daily life. One must hand it to Ia Genberg for her patience and incredible insights into human behavior that came together to write such a book.

There are four chapters, each with a distinct theme. As the writer is recovering from a nasty bout of malaria she starts to think of her life, so this is how the book begins. There are several themes that are prominent and fluidly mingle in the connecting chapters. Propelling the stories are issues with lovers, both male and female of different classes, roommates, work, friendship, books and problems that would and could affect anyone.

The writing is rich and so clearly observant as it pinpoints a thematic change triggered by just a glance or a different tone in the voice during a conversation. Each sentence packs a punch; it is spare yet very powerful.

I was pleasantly surprised by the talent and the observations as I knew nothing prior about the author. I truly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it for people interested in good characters and beautiful writing that is simple and clear.

I like a slice of life book but this wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the writing style at all, it was too formal and stilted for such a basic story. I kept hoping something would happen and nothing really did. It wasn’t bad but if felt like it was going to be so much more than it was.

A soft, gentle book that leaves you with contemplation rather than any answers to the question it raises: can we really separate ourselves from our pasts, the relationships that build our lives? I wanted to read it because it comps to Rachel Cusk, and i'm very satisfied on that front. I hope more of Genberg's books are translated for those of us who don't know Swedish.

I liked this but am not sure what to make of it. It’s very slice-of-life, and the individual slices are interesting, but I sort of wanted them to add up to something more when put together. I think it intentionally avoids a traditional narrative structure with a climax etc. Structurally, it reminds me of the movie Moonlight, with a triptych (or in this case a…quadriptych?) of vignettes set over many years of one character’s life. It also reminds me a bit of Written on the Body, full of anecdotes about people from the protagonist’s past (the narrator of Written on the Body is always saying “I had a girlfriend once who…”).

For a book largely set in the 1990s, it feels oddly ungrounded in time. There is a scene set at a 1999 NYE party, which I enjoyed (as someone who only dimly remembers that NYE as a then-8-year-old, it was fun to see an adult perspective on it). And there are mentions of the lack of cell phones and social media. But besides the new millennium, the main character seems to have little to no sense of what is happening in the world at any given time. She says, “I felt void of history, as if I came from nowhere, as if the twentieth century had not happened in me for thirty years already and was now coming to an end.” So, fine, I guess this was an intentional character choice for whatever reason, to make this character so untethered from the time she lives in. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, just different from what I expected.

I was curious to see a portrayal of queer life in Sweden in the 90s, but the book seems quite uninterested in that topic, as though it’s set in an alternate universe where homophobia simply never existed, or as though the author first wrote a chapter about the main character’s ex-boyfriend Johan, and then changed it to her ex-girlfriend Johanna. Other than one instance of the main character using the word “bisexuality” in passing (in a parenthetical aside, in fact), she seems hardly aware of the fact that she’s not heterosexual, despite dating men and women. (I mean this neither as complaint nor as praise, just as a description for anyone curious.)

I like to think that I’ll reread this in twenty years; I can imagine really connecting with it when I myself am middle-aged. Not so much because of the subject matter — it’s not about mortgages or divorces or midlife crises — but it has a particular emotional tenor to it that made me think, “I liked this, but I bet I’d appreciate it so much more if my twenties were at least a decade behind me.”