The New Children
What happens when all the new children being born aren’t normal?
‘I’ve killed a child.
That’s what they tell me in the police station interrogation room. Inside my head, I’m screaming.
It wasn’t a child I killed. It was something completely different. Can’t you see that?’
No children are being born and the world is in shock. After a few years, women begin to get pregnant again, but the new children are not like children used to be. They don’t play games or show emotions, they only watch silently. Against her will, Rakel becomes involved when she kills one of the new children. She is among the first to realize that the new generation is a threat to humanity’s very existence.
More children are born and they develop faster than normal humans. After a brutal incident at work, Rakel escapes: From anxiety and betrayed love, seeking solace in drink and the company of strangers. Until she discovers something …
About the author: Boel Bermann
Praised, dystopian debutant author who combines her interest for fantasy, science-fiction and horror, developing world famous video games.
Kalla Kulor Förlag, Sweden, 2013, 205 pages
Original Swedish title: Den nya människan
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Book trailer for “The New Children”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujzDBv5Eaf8
Reviews for “The New Children”: (Translated from Swedish)
http://boelbermann.se/the-new-children-reviews/
About the author:
http://boelbermann.se/about-boel-bermann/
Press material & contact information:
http://boelbermann.se/press/
Review quotes: (Translated from Swedish)
Metro Sweden
”What to read – here are this week’s favorites: The New Children by Boel Bermann.
Discomforting vision of our future. The computer games developer Rachel realizes that the new children that are born after the worldwide infertility are different. But what do they really want? Are they a threat to humanity? Trilling and ominous vision of the future with both hope and chaos within reach. ”
Page 34: http://www.readmetro.com/en/sweden/stockholm/20130823/
The children says goodbye in literature / Dagens Nyheter
”The child stops being loyal to the society that is not loyal towards the child, look through it with a penetrating gaze. The apartment with the abandoned child could be taken from Boel Bermanns sharp debut novel that came this fall. Bermann writes in a dystopian sci-fi tradition where humanity eats their own children. Such heart-stopping stories of the end of childhood exists in previous works. Brian Aldiss (”Greybeard”, 1964) and P D James (”Children of Men”, 1992) portrays the collapse of civilization. They depict the dictatorships that have become merciless as it lacks ideological hope of a future. The last generation of children in P D James novel live in a society of strong, healthy independent adults. ”
Read the feature article here: http://www.dn.se/dnbok/barnen-tar-adjo-i-litteraturen/
The year of liturarure when so society fell apart / SVT Kultur
”Insecure employment , pride and lost dreams . Literary critic Ulrika Milles about the year in liturature 2013, which belonged to the new working-class literature. In Swedish literature in 2013 falls society apart. Since a few years back they keep surfacing: the books of a society that eats its own children. The books are often an invocation : where did you go, all those dreams of a equal world.Authors such as Aino Trosell , Kristina Sandberg, Therese Söderlind, Johan Jönsson, Helene Rådberg, Jenny Wrangborg , Susanna Alakoski talks about the new class society and the old. However the works of the working class literature with it´s traditionally masculine , dangerous aura is gone. Instead, the stories that are mixing genres are coming forth: with a foundation of horror in Henrik Johansson ” Of flesh and blood ,” as science fiction in Boel Bermann’s ”The New Children” or as autobiographical polemic in Kristian Lundberg’s ” A hometown. A story about traveling through class darkness’. ”
Read the feature story here: http://www.svt.se/kultur/bok/samhallet-faller-sonder-i-bokaret-2013
This years best novels/Den döda zonen
Den döda zonen lists this years best novels. And the winners are…
This years most ominous: ”All these unpleasant children Boel Bermann’s novel The New Children, a creeping and evocative book about children who are no longer children, but something else entirely.”
http://dodazonen.wordpress.com/tag/arets-basta-bocker/
The editorial staffs favorite novels 2013/Dagensbok.com
The New Children by Boel Bermann: ”Great to see the Swedish dystopia takes a step forward. Interesting with parallels to be drawn to our own society. ”
http://dagensbok.com/2014/01/03/redaktionens-favoriter-2013/
The best novels 2013 /Schitzo-Cookie´s Bokblogg
The Best Novel 2013′s was: #1 The New Children by Boel Bermann
Reason: ”It was a long time since I devoured a novel in the way that I devoured this one. An unexpectedly good debut which I liked extremely much . I´m eagerly awaiting more from Boel! ”
http://schitzo-cookie.blogspot.se/2013/12/13-basta-bockernaseriealbumen-fran-2013.html
Top 10 new authours 2013 / Booklovin
”This week’s topic is” Top 10, for me, new authors, 2013.
Boel Bermann – I enjoyed Bermann’s debut a lot, The New Children. It was a breath of fresh air in the dystopia genre and just the right balance between unpleasant / scary for my taste. It will be incredibly fun to see what she writes in the future. ”
http://boooklovin.blogspot.se/2013/12/top-ten-tuesday_17.html
A gripping, dark dystopia
”The idea and, not least, the world based on the idea is amazing. This is a novel that both criticizes and comments on the world we live in today, and creates a possible scenario of what it might lead to. What happens when we eat more and more GM products, what are the consequences? How do the human race react when ordinary people realize that they are probably the last generation of its kind? What is the private, political, societal impact? Political blows kicks in doors to both right and left in this dystopian prophecy, which is creeping very close to a real conceivable world. I’m impressed and intrigued from the first to the last line of Boel Berman’s pitch black and detailed story. And then this is combined with children and horror – is there anything more frightening? ”
http://mettespocketblogg.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-berman-en-gripande-svart-dystopi/
IElinasHylla
”The book actually managed to live up to all my expectations, without any reservations whatsoever. I’m thrilled that I’ve read a well-written, thoughtful and moderately thick / thin (however you want to define) Swedish novel that is also a dystopia. Hurray, hurray!
I like the way the story is told by created in layers, changing between Rachel’s point of view with news articles and occasional science reports. It reinforces the feeling that the book deals with an alternate future where ”The New Children” is an existing problem in society, as well as reinforces the feeling that it is something real, something that actually could happen! The language is honest, straight to the point and it fits the dystopian and dark future that is describes. ”
http://ielinashylla.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/den-nya-manniskan/
Bokmoster
”The computer games developer Rachel really get in a difficult situation when she defense a friend’s child kill one of the children from the new generation. Society sees them as harmless, they’re just children. But Rachel gets close enough to see what they are capable of … A novel worth reading, a well-written sci-fi dystopia that enters the area that touches my household god Margaret Atwood, with The Handmaids Tale and the MaddAddam trilogy. ”
http://bokmoster.blogspot.se/2014/03/310-den-nya-manniskan.html
A dystopian tale of the futures sexual and reproductive rights
”The whole book is a description of social engineering in which children’s needs come last and the world’s need of children comes first. Women are just tools for the public benefit and are encouraged to bring new children to the world, the right over the womans own body is subordinate to the social benefits which leads to the right to abortion disappears. It is a dark tale of sexual and reproductive rights that recalls that we can never let go and think that the victories won will last forever. ”
http://suzannsexeducator.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/en-dystopisk-berattelse-om-framtidens-sexuella-och-reproduktiva-rattigheter-den-nya-manniskan/
Cornucopia
”The débutante Boel Bermann’s Swedish science fiction horror dystopia The New Children is masterfully powerful stylistic, but far too short, debut. An excellent Christmas gift for anyone who loves true science fiction, that is books that make you think ”What if …”
http://cornucopia.cornubot.se/2013/12/den-nya-manniskan-egna-barn-och-andras.html
Den döda zonen
”I keep reading. The novel is written with a convenient, easy to read language, invites to be read. Bermann lay out the text, the story fascinates and provokes the mind. I find myself highly enjoying the dark scenes, want more of them. More darkness, more panic. It is in the doomed, paralyzed that the book is at its best. The New Children is a debut novel worthy of attention. It promises more. ”
http://dodazonen.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/recension-boel-bermann-den-nya-manniskan/
(Inte så) Anonyma Biblioholister
”Swedish fantastik is fantastic” I occasionally shout, but it is really so. Swedish fantasy, horror and dystopias are so ”just right” for me. And no, just right is not an insult in this this case. They can be pitch black, wild, sprawling, imaginative – but in the midst of it all, there is often a core of reality that makes the story creeps so much closer to me than the novels published by many of the more flashy international writers. The Swedish favorites are many: Tidbeck, Jensen, Ormes, Eggert, Ajvide, Fager – and now Bermann. Boel has delivered a good story. It could have benefited from a little tougher editing, but all in all: good. Very good. ”
http://bokoholist.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/den-nya-manniskan/
Bibliotek i Fokus
”This is a dystopia that sends shivers down your spine after the first page. The text consists of newspaper articles, research interviews and the main story told by Rakel. That the future portrayed is so close in time and that the society largely resembles our current society makes it all the more frightening. The story is well written and the characters believable. The reader soon begins to wonder if this nightmare could become truth: how should we relate to it? A very captivating debut. ”
http://www.biblioteketifokus.se/index.php/recensioner/89-det-perfekta-lopsteget-9
Malins Bokblogg
”This is a frightening read, and the fact that there are children involved contributes to the horrifying atmosphere. The book is told from Rachel’s perspective, but also mixed with newspaper clippings and interviews by several researchers who gives their views on the matter. It makes everything feel very believable and makes it even more horrible to read. It creeps so incredibly close. ”
http://malinsblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann/
CatOnHat
”…page-turner of great proportions, amazing intrigue, captivating story, sharp turns, good grip with mixing” news items ”with the main story. Oh how good it is. ”
http://catonhat.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/den-nya-manniskan-boel-berman/
Beroende av böcker
”Oh how I loved this book. In a very stylish way we can read Rakel’s story mixed with newspaper articles, research papers and the like. The story takes place in many different countries, at different levels, and has exactly the right length. Where many authors have a tendency to write too long, Bermann succeeds in boiling down the story to it´s essence. It is also a very scary story, a few times I found myself practically holding my breath as I read the novel. I understand Rakel, all the way through the story, despite the fact that she changes position and feelings, or maybe because of that fact that she does it?”
http://beroendeavbocker.blogspot.se/2013/11/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann.html
Bokboxen
”The New Children is a small Sci-Fi gem. In a very ”Should-become-a-wellproduced-TVserie-in-Sweden-then-bought-by-HBO-and-becoming-a-world-sucess-making-the-authour-very-rich”-kind of way. And even if the basic idea is reminiscent of PD James classic Children of Men, which became the movie with Clive Owen a few years ago, the story takes a completely different way pretty quickly. ”
ttp://bokboxen.blogspot.se/2013/10/boel-berman-den-nya-manniskan.html
The discussion on reproduction, and what is really a human? / Dagens Bok
”Eventually there is a discussion on what it is that is the essence of a human being. Is it the old man that represents what it is to be human, that is, with the ability to feel emotions (or feel the right emotions in the right way), the ability to act illogically, the ability to systematically exploit other creatures. Bermanns book is a dystopia. But I think that the dystopian lies as much in the present as in the future as depicted, for the unacceptable is already happening, and the monsters already exists. In this way the novel is an important post in the discussion / debate. And a petition that sometimes snatches away the safe ground you are standing on. ”
http://dagensbok.com/2013/09/26/reproduktionsnormsdiskussion-och-vad-ar-en-manniska/
Bibliophilia
”I’m not normally fond of dystopias, but this one managed to get under my skin. It came uncomfortably close and made me think about how people were treated at the time around and during World War II, to the exclusion and racism, and to the discussions about human equality. ”
http://bibliophilia.se/?p=2824
Det mörka tornet
”Overall this book is very well written. Rakel is a strong personality and a kind of champion for the original humanity. You can really feel her frustration when no one wants to listen to her cries for help. The horror is hiding there between the sides, oozing out to me as a reader. I am kept in an iron grip. ”
http://detmorkatornet.blogspot.se/2013/10/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann.html
Schitzo-Cookie’s Bokblogg – Rating: Loved & Favorite
”Summary: A wonderfully good debut, I got John Ajvide Lindquist vibes, which is a great rating from me as he is one of my favorite authors. I look forward to reading more by Boel.”
http://schitzo-cookie.blogspot.se/2013/08/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann.html
Vargnatts Bokhylla
”Sometimes you find one of those book that you really want to devour in a single reading. It’s like a hand reaches out from the pages and pulls you down into the words so that you live in the story and have no other choice than to keep reading until the pages ends. The New Children is such a book! ”
http://vargnattsbokhylla.blogspot.se/2013/08/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann.html?m=1
Lingonhjärta
”Very stylishly written and a very good book. And very scary! Boel Bermann had the ability to scare the life out of me when I read this book. Because somehow she managed to make it feel very real. ”
http://www.lingonhjarta.com/2013/08/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann.html
Lexie Läser – Review score: 5/5
”This was an incredible, emotional and exciting book with a touch of horror. I could easily have finished the novel immediately when I got it, but I didn´t want it to end so the result was that I read a little of it every night before bedtime. Against what I usually read, this is a difference, but I love the book, to be honest , and it’s really one of the best books that I’ve read this year … ”
http://www.lexielaser.org/2013/08/inga-barn-som-fods-nasta-ar.html
Lena C – Score: 4,5/5
”It’s a frightening, interesting, thought-provoking and fascinating read. Definitely one of the better books I’ve read this year. Although it is only 205 pages with short chapters, it feels as if it could be read in an eternity – which in this case seemed like a very good thing, I didn´t want it to end once I had finished reading it. ”
http://lenacee.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/den-nya-manniskan/
Megazine – Score: 8/10
“The roughly 200 pages disappeared in a flash and I found myself sitting in the couch smiling. The last time it happened was when I first read “Let the Right One In” all those years ago, which is a good score since I have read every single book John Ajvide Lindqvist has written since. I hope for the same regarding Boel Bermann. ”
http://megazine.se/2013/12/den-nya-manniskan/
Booklovin – Score: 8/10
“In short The New Children is a fast paced, thrilling dystopian page-turner that makes you think and creates a terrifying, but most of all, interesting future. If you are tired of the same old dystopia that follow the same pattern and want a fresh new dystopia – I definitely think you should give this a chance. It´s truly worth it. ”
http://boooklovin.blogspot.se/2013/08/den-nya-manniskan.html
Love Kölle – Score: 4/5
”All in all, Boel Bermann’s ”The New Children” is both an interesting addition to the science fiction genre in Sweden, and an exciting, well-written debut. I really hope that Bermann is here to stay, because judging from this novel, she has the potential to achieve great things in the future. ”
http://www.lovekolle.se/2/post/2013/08/boel-bermann-den-nya-mnniskan.html
Bokföring enligt Monika – Score: 4/5
”Besides being frightening, this novel awakened a lot of thoughts when I read it. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be humane? Can you feel empathy with someone who, besides having the appearances of a human, has no other human traits? Does society always know what is best or can I decide what’s best for me? I don´t get the answers, but I hope that I would have done as Rakel. Don´t be fooled by the short length of the novel, for it is packed with content and I find it amazing that a book on so few pages can contain as much. Good novels don´t need to be thick. ”
http://bokslut.blogspot.se/2013/08/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann.html
Nellas böcker – Score: 4/5
”The New Children is not quite like most other dystopias I’ve read. It is dark, naturally, and in places quite discomforting, but it has a very individual style that makes it stand out from the crowd.”
http://nellasbocker.blogspot.se/2013/09/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-berman.html
Nilmas Bokhylla – Score 4/5
”Before I started reading this novel, I wondered how an entire dystopian story could be created in just over 200 pages. This was not a problem and you should absolutely not be fooled by the novel’s thin appearance. The novel consists of Rakel’s life but also news articles and interviews with various people involved in the project ”The New Children”. I like the book’s story and I like the fact that it has an open ending. ”
http://nilmasbokhylla.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/den-nya-manniskan/
Foliehatt på – Score: 4/5
”A debut novel that I hope leaves you wanting more from Bermann and that she continues to write. She has taken a classic approach to our horror. What she writes is close and unknown, but not entirely impossible. Bermann created a good tone in her writing and a vivid image of what Rakel faces without overwhelming the reader with details and explanations. ”Less is more”. Sure, I wanted to know more on some parts, but I was not lavished with detail and unnecessary things. Better short and straight to the point than ductile and unnecessary long. ”
http://fabulationer.blogspot.se/2013/08/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann-kalla.html
Bookrelated – Score: 4/5
”I really enjoyed the way this novel was written. The narration felt genuine, as if it was the character herself who wrote it and not the writer behind the character. It is definitely a book that you could read in one day, since the suspension really keeps a tight hold of the reader. ”
http://bookrelated.devote.se/blogs/26881334/recensioner-immortal-rules-den-nya-maenniskan-mm.htm
Lottens Bokblogg – Score: 4/5
”The New Children is still very exciting, and as a debut novel it is clearly impressive. I rarely read dystopias, and this is probably the best in the genre I have ever read. There is also a distinct social critical stance on how we treat people who perceived a little ’different’. ”
”Summary: An exciting Swedish dystopia about the threat from what is different. Rating: 4/5 ”
http://lottensbokblogg.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/den-nya-manniskan-av-boel-bermann/
Boktokig
”Let me just start with a round of applause to Boel Bermann, the world definitely needs more dystopias and more Swedish writer. Bermann, you hit two birds with one stone! Not only that this is a dystopia that partly takes place in Sweden, it’s a really good dystopia as well! A dystopia we haven´t read before, a dystopia we did not anticipate. Bermann has certainly managed to be innovative, she has created a world we could not have createdourselves. I love it!”
http://www.bok-tokig.com/2013/09/recension-den-nya-manniskan-av-boel.html
MsHisingen
”It’s a really good novel. And frightening. I kept looking over my own shoulder a couple of times while reading the first part and turned on the light in the adjecent room … I think it was interesting to see how the right to free abortion is revoced, how after all is known about The New Children the society continues to value the need for labour in production higher. ”
http://mshisingen.blogspot.se/2013/09/den-nya-manniskan-jag-kunde-ha-avvarjt.html
In another library
”It is the differences between the old and The New Children and the complex relationship they have between each other that truly is the core of the novel, and it says a lot about our world today. Bermann skillfully paints the picture and details how this version of our future would look like with the help of Rachel’s story and fictional newspaper clippings, interviews and research papers. ”
http://inanotherlibrary.se/den-nya-manniskan/
Doktor Glas
”There is much that I like about “The New Children”. First of all, that things are going straight to hell. I assume it is the same abhorrent phenomenon that causes people to stop and look at a traffic accident, though this may (and even encouraged) to look (read). The New Children is a really excellent debut novel, I am sitting with chills down my spine a large part of the read. It takes place now – not a hundred or a thousand years in the future (and I think this makes the book even more scary). The way the story is told is reminiscent of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s horror novels.”
http://doktorglas.blogg.se/2013/october/den-nya-manniskan-boel-bermann-2.html
Du är vad du läser
”The New Children is an unpleasant novel. In a good way. The starting is close, but it advances rapidly a few years and the vast majority of the story takes place a few years into the 2020s. The premise is that no child are born. After a few years women becomes pregnant again, but something is not as it used to. The children looks like they used to, but they don´t behave as children normally do. Or as they used to, earlier. The new children behave almost like robots that analyze their environment, but they don´t play and don´t fight with each other. ”
http://www.duarvaddulaser.se/2013/12/2013-48-boel-bermann-den-nya-manniskan.html
Flisans boktips
”In summary, The New Children a very good Swedish dystopia that captured me from the first page. I would recommend it to everyone, from old to young, to read this book because it works for the dystopia craving high school student to the crime/suspension interested parent. In short, if the description of the novel sounds just a tiny bit interesting to you: read it!”
http://flisansboktips.blogspot.se/2013/09/den-nya-manniskan.html
Farbror Atlas
”Bermann delivers an interesting and ominous dystopia in his first book. Press clippings, dissertations and feverish texts almost reminiscent of diary entries constitute the book’s content. It´s an exciting mix that in a clever way makes the whole situation with the children and the new world more visual for me as a reader. The questions raised in the novel about a world without ”human” people are as frightening as it is though provoking. The story of the main character, Rakel, and her, in many ways, tragic journey is also well composed and engaging. Everything is not black or white, and that is what I truly enjoy about the novel. For fans of dystopias and omnious science fiction The New Children is a recommended read. ”
http://farbroratlas.com/2013/08/28/laskiga-barn-i-laskig-framtidsdystopi/
SocialistSimon
”Boel Bermann manages to capture a thrilling story, a believable dystopia and really good horror in the same novel. You can hardly tell you more than that without spoiling the story, but I can only urge you to read her. This is really great! ”
http://socialistsimon.blogg.se/2013/october/den-nya-manniskan-2.html
Helsinborgs Dagblad/Handling the Newborns
”The closer the horror comes to our time, the more believable it becomes. When Boel Bermann commences her dystopia she allows events to take off only a few years from now and we are drawn into a scenario where the worlds women for a short period no longer become pregnant. When births are occuring again, something is different with the new children. Without detracting from the authors work, I suspect that she draws inspiration from both ”Children of Men” and ”World War Z” as well as the Swedish ’Handling the Undead’. ”
http://hd.se/kultur/boken/2013/08/28/hanteringen-av-nyfodda/
Dystopia entice non-stop reading / BT
”Boel Bermann is perfectly right in time with her debut, a dystopia of children and childlessness / choosing not to have children debate. Though it is not primarily about parenting that she writes, rather a threat to humanity’s existence. First no children are born anymore. A few years later, when women become pregnant again, it’s a different kind of children that is being born. Quiet, introspective, callous: The New Children. ”
http://www.bt.se/kulturnoje/bocker/dystopi-lockar-till-stracklasning(4050738).gm
Appetizer that gives a appetite for more/ Skånskan.se
”Boel Bermann is a very skilled writer. The New Children is a difficult book to stop reading and especially the scenes where the heat is turned up. When it describes action, the book is really good, very exciting and sometimes really scary, so that it creeps shivers down your spine. ”
http://www.skanskan.se/article/20140104/NOJE/140109821/1007/-/forsmak-som-ger-blodad-tand
From Beyond
”The New Children is a strong debut novel from a promising writer who, despite a slightly harsh tone, engage and to some extent even shakes you as a reader. It is a gruesome, but not straight through pitch-black, depiction of a future that appears to lead to our downfall. Perhaps the most eerie with the story is that Bermann question this, and let us consider whether the things happening may be our salvation rather than our death sentence. ”
http://frombeyond.se/den-nya-manniskan-2013/
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