The Details by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish to English by Kira Josefsson, is a novel that delves into memory, relationships, and the subtle yet lasting impact of human connections. Published on January 18, 2024, and shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize, the book offers an intimate portrait of a woman revisiting her past while bedridden with a fever. Through the recollection of four significant people; Johanna, Niki, Alejandro, and Birgitte the novel paints a moving picture of love, loss, and self-discovery. With its reflective and immersive storytelling, The Details is an unforgettable meditation on how people shape our lives, even long after they are gone. Instead of following a traditional storyline, it presents a deeply personal reflection of a woman revisiting important relationships that left lasting marks on her life.
The Details revolves around a woman who, while bedridden with a fever, recalls four people from her past an ex-girlfriend, a lost friend, a fleeting lover, and a mysterious presence. Through these recollections, the novel dives into themes of love, loss, and self-discovery. The writing is immersive, making readers feel as if they are stepping into the protagonist’s thoughts and emotions.
What makes The Details stand out is its quiet yet powerful storytelling. The novel is not driven by major events or dramatic twists, but by the weight of memories and emotions. With poetic prose and a reflective tone, it encourages readers to think about their own past connections and the small details that leave lasting impressions.
Availability and the Details of Novel
The Details by Ia Genberg, translated by Kira Josefsson, was published by Wildfire on January 18, 2024. The Details is a deeply introspective novel that explores memory, relationships, and the lasting impact of the people we encounter in life. This novel, which was shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize, is available in multiple formats. The paperback edition has 176 pages and is priced at ₹379, while the hardcover version costs ₹1,700. The Kindle edition is available for ₹278, making it the most affordable option.
The book can be purchased from online stores like Amazon and major bookstores. Choosing the Kindle version is a great option because it is budget-friendly, easy to carry, and allows for adjustable font sizes for a comfortable reading experience.
About the Author of The Details
Ia Genberg, born in 1967 in Stockholm, Sweden, is a well-known journalist and novelist. She initially worked in journalism before moving into fiction writing. Her first novel, Söta fredag (Sweet Friday), was published in 2012, followed by Sent farväl (Belated Farewell) in 2013. In 2018, she released a short story collection titled Klen tröst och fyra andra berättelser om pengar (Small Comfort and Four Other Tales About Money).
Her most acclaimed work, Detaljerna (The Details), was published in 2022 and won the prestigious August Prize for Best Fiction. The book’s English translation, done by Kira Josefsson, was later shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize. Genberg’s works have been translated into several languages, earning her international recognition. She currently lives in Stockholm, where she continues her work in literature and journalism.
Themes of The Details
- Memory and Time: In The Details, the narrator’s fever acts as a gateway to the past, bringing back vivid memories of four important people in her life—Johanna, Niki, Alejandro, and Birgitte. The book explores how memories shape our identity and how past experiences stay with us. It questions whether time truly moves forward or if we keep revisiting the same moments in our minds.
- Relationships and Their Lasting Impact: The Details shows how every relationship leaves a mark on us. Through love, friendship, and loss, the narrator realizes that the people we meet shape who we become. Even when relationships end, their influence remains, proving that in some way, no bond is ever truly broken.
- The Power of Literature: Books play an important role in The Details, acting as emotional triggers that transport the narrator through time. A simple note in an old book leads her back to forgotten moments, proving that literature is not just about stories but also about personal history. The novel emphasizes how books connect us to our past and to the people who shared those books with us.
- Identity and Self-Discovery: Throughout The Details, the narrator questions what truly defines a person. Is the self an independent entity, or is it just a collection of experiences and relationships? The book suggests that our identity is built from the details of our interactions with others, making each person we meet a part of us in some way.
- Loss and Transformation: Loss is a key theme in The Details, but the novel presents it in a different way. Instead of focusing on grief, it explores how people who leave our lives continue to shape us. Whether someone disappears suddenly or drifts away over time, their impact remains, showing that loss is not just about absence but also about change.
- The Beauty of Small Moments: The Details is a quiet but powerful novel that encourages readers to focus on the small, meaningful moments in life. Instead of following a traditional storyline, the book reflects on personal experiences, memories, and emotions. It shows that life is not just about big events but also about the little details that make up who we are.
- The Complexity of Human Emotions: The emotions in The Details are deep and layered. The narrator experiences love, longing, regret, and self-reflection, making the story feel real and relatable. The novel captures how human emotions are never simple and how we often feel different things at the same time.
- The Connection Between Past and Present: In The Details, the past and present blend together as the narrator’s memories come alive. The book suggests that time is not linear but instead loops back on itself, with past experiences shaping the present. It reminds us that even when we think we have moved on, the past continues to influence us in unexpected ways.
- A Unique and Thought-Provoking Novel: Although The Details may seem like a simple story, it offers deep reflections on life, relationships, and self-discovery. It invites readers to slow down and notice the little things that make life meaningful. Through its quiet and poetic storytelling, the book leaves a lasting impact, proving that sometimes, the most powerful stories are found in the smallest details.
Critical Reception
Textured insights into human nature. ― The New Yorker
This beautiful, moving book unfolds in four stand-alone portraits that, together, yield a sharp, poignant picture of the portraitist. The narrative blurs the boundaries that separate memoir from fiction, past from present, and self from other, which evokes the spell of fever during which it was written. The miraculous sort of novel that fuses with our personal memories and becomes part of us. ― Hernan Diaz, author of TRUST
The Details is about relationships, about love, about parents and children…about all of it. The little observations about being young, and about growing up, and about getting lost by accident, and getting lost on purpose, searching for yourself in everyone else…damn it, I’ve underlined half of the book. I wish I could write like this. ― Fredrik Backman, New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove
Brief and penetrating… Genberg’s marvellous prose is also a kind of fever, mesmerizing and hot to the touch. ― Catherine Lacey, New York Times
The nonlinear narrative renders the protagonist both vivid and obscure – the perfect conduit for this compelling, uncannily precise meditation on transience. ― Hephzibah Anderson, Observer
Wistfully recalls a time when what was lost stayed lost… It has the smooth documentary realism of a life reconstructed in close-up. ― Claire Allfree, The Times
Emotionally nuanced and formally innovative, Ia Genberg’s beautiful novel The Details manages the remarkable feat of painting a whole picture of a single life, solely via the lives of the people who have touched it. This is a novel that, through its very bones, encapsulates one of the most important ideas of our current political moment – the necessity of connection, and our vulnerability to one another. ― Susannah Dickey, author of Tennis Lessons
In four succinct and arresting portraits, the narrator of The Details remembers the people who have shaped her life. At once humorous and heartbreaking, this book is an ode to the different kinds of love that form us. It asks how we hold onto the people who touch us, how we remember them, and whether we should ever let them go. I won’t forget this beautiful book. ― Jenna Clake, author of Disturbance
It’s difficult to describe the experience of reading Ia Genberg’s English language debut beyond saying that it resembles a fever dream… Genberg’s prose is a feat of characterization, a triumph of lending language and profundity to observations of daily life. At a tight 150 pages, I didn’t read it so much as subconsciously absorb it. ― Eliza Smith, Literary Hub
Excerpts from Novel
- “We live so many lives within our lives – smaller lives with people who come and go, friends who disappear, children who grow up – and I never know which of these lives is meant to serve as the frame.”
This line reflects the transient nature of human relationships and experiences. Life is made up of different phases, each shaped by the people we meet and the moments we share. Some connections fade with time, while others leave lasting impressions. The speaker questions which of these experiences truly defines their life, highlighting the uncertainty of what holds the most meaning in the grand scheme of things.
- “Some books stay in your bones long after their titles and details have slipped from memory”.
This means that some books have a deep and lasting impact on us. Even if we forget their names or specific details, the feelings, and emotions they created remain with us. These books shape our thoughts, influence our perspectives, and become a part of who we are.
- That’s all there is to the self, or the so-called ‘self’: traces of the people we rub up against. I loved Johanna’s words and gestures and let them become part of me, intentionally or not. I suppose that is at the core of every relationship, and the reason that in some sense no relationship ever ends.
This means that our identity is shaped by the people we meet and the connections we form. The words, actions, and influence of others leave marks on us, becoming part of who we are. Even when relationships end or people leave, their impact remains, making every relationship, in a way, everlasting.
Why Read and Buy The Details?
You should read The Details because it is a deeply emotional and beautifully written book that explores how the people in our lives shape who we are. Through four unique portraits, the story reflects on love, memory, and the connections that stay with us over time. Ia Genberg’s writing is both personal and universal, making the book relatable to anyone who has ever looked back on past relationships and friendships.
The Details is not just a novel instead it feels like a conversation with yourself, reminding you of the people who have left lasting marks on your life. With its powerful storytelling and poetic language, this book is a must-read for those who enjoy thoughtful and reflective literature.
Final Thoughts
The Details is a deeply touching novel that explores memory, relationships, and the way people shape us. Through vivid portraits of past connections, it reminds us that every person we meet leaves a mark on our lives. With its unique storytelling and emotional depth, The Details is a book that lingers in the heart long after the final page.
