Egenmäktigt förfarande av Lena Andersson

The phrase ”Egenmäktigt förfarande” refers to the Swedish crime when someone is taking the law into his own hands and blocking or otherwise preventing something so the owner is restrained from using it. Philosophically, the term might be used in other situations, according to the author. The philosophical poet Ester meets the artist Hugo and falls desperately in love. Or, perhaps the right word is obsessed. The relationship, or what it is, is far from equal and Ester does everything and anything while Hugo is constantly acknowledged. Andersson's colorful descriptions of the mental detours, the love enchanted interpretations and the self deceiving way of the mind in a certain situation, are masterful. She captures the wonderings and negotiations with oneself, the battle between dignity and submission, the change from independence to dependence, and the balance of hope and despair. The vulnerable position of a person in love, and the powerful position of the person less in love. 

Many women can certainly identify with Ester's emotions at some level. Her mixed feelings and divided attitude about a useless relationship with a self serving man. Most women have been in love and, even if it was not unanswered love, at least they felt uncertainty about the other person's feelings. 

It's intellectual and philosophical with many references to great classic literature like Chekhov and Dostoevsky. But, first of all, it's psychological. Alternations between clarity and despair and self deception and hope. The novel earned the August prize in 2013, and is a rare piece of literature that really shows that the heart sees what it wants to see, and the mind has to adjust to that. The choices of the blind heart matches one's inner longings.