THE GORDIAN SOFA
Den gordiska soffan

 “ It is strange, sometimes I see us from the outside. Now.
They stand there all together and watch the model of the town, the light is mild on faces and hands, it is shining and glittering in sugar and silver. The rest of the room disappears in darkness. Tårten’s almost black back and boy’s neck covers half of the model, Hannele’s covers a part of the edge. In the gap between them, the light is strongest.  As if we were a painting by Caravaggio”.

Hannele is almost thirty years old when by chance, or if it is destiny, she gets the opportunity to use the same room as her father did when he worked as an architect in “Gamla Stan” (the medieval part of Stockholm). In this room decisive events have taken place that have influenced her own life.
She sits down with a pen and paper and decides to write about it. She writes about Daddy Örjan who escapes from reality and gets more and more addicted to alcohol. About Birgitta who takes care of everything and strives to make life nice for her family. About young upper-class Katarina who dreams of a wedding in white and about the beloved brother Tårt who survives on Hannele’s tales.
The Gordian sofa is at the same time a tragedy and a story filled with hope– about the modern family.

The Gordian sofa was published by Albert Bonniers förlag, autumn 2006.

I can say it without hesitation – this is something that I like. Strongly. I appreciate the wilfulness of the author Karin Stensdotter, her clever ideas, funny dialogue and quick transfers in time and space – simular to those in her debut Arne's kiosk
The Swedish Broadcasting Corp., Cultural News, Elin Claeson

Stensdotter wright in a prompt, sarcastic and wise way about the modern family.
Svenska Dagbladet

Slowly the tragedy and its causes are reconstructed. At the same time, Stensdotter deconstructs the upperclass…This is done with excellence, furthermore with the light touch of comedy.
Östgöta Correspondenten

ARNE’S KIOSK

It is the eighties. Björn, a fatherless talented young man from the poor suburb starts studying history of arts at the University of Stockholm. Here he meets an entirely different world; well-dressed, young upper class people. The son of a wealthy man, Victor, with his ambitions to become a patron of young artists, and Stella, cool and attractive, with whom Björn falls helplessly in love. Stella is already engaged but she and Björn begin a secret relationship, they don’t meet often but their meetings are extremely passionate. After some time Björn starts studying at the prestigious School of Arts. He meets new friends, among others the eccentric Arne who buys a kiosk where he sets up a small and illegal bar for his artist friends. Björn lives with the picture of Stella as an unattainable ideal. At the same time he reluctantly starts a relationship with the more down-to-earth Harriet. The story follows Björn’s way from the fumbling years at university, the intense love-story with beautiful Stella, the tough years at the School of Arts, to a maturity where Björn finally starts to find out who he is.