A Fairy Tale

March, 1986: the Swedish prime minister, Olof Palme, has been assassinated, and a young boy and his father are on the move again. Travelling from Sweden to the outskirts of Denmark and into the heart of Copenhagen, the two live an itinerant life on the margins of society. The father, an eccentric, restless man, takes a series of odd jobs — from making antique furniture, to landscaping, to working as a bouncer at a strip club. By day, he home-schools his son. At night, he weaves a fairy tale about a prince and a king on a secret mission. But one day, their adventure takes a dark, unpredictable turn.

Ten years later, as the boy enters adulthood, he tries to conform to the demands of ordinary life. Yet he is haunted by his childhood — and questions about his father's murky past can no longer remain unanswered.

A Fairy Tale is a coming-of-age novel like no other. Powerful, sensitive, and utterly mesmerising, it reveals the indelible legacy that our parents leave to us.

About the Author

Jonas T. Bengtsson has published two previous novels: his 2005 literary debut, Amina’s Letters, winner of the Danish Debutant Award and BG Bank First Book Award; and Submarino, the film adaptation of which took the 2010 Nordic Council Film Prize. He has also received the P.O. Enquist Literary Prize and was nominated for the Weekendavisens Literature Prize. He lives in Copenhagen.