Supporting Act
Agnes Lidbeck author Nichola Smalley translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Peirene Press Ltd
Publishing:2nd Jul '25
£12.99
This title is due to be published on 2nd July, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
The social contract is not negotiated at an individual level. It is a universal set of rules that must be followed for society to function. The contract stipulates that the individual, henceforth known as The Woman, is required to play three roles. The Woman must be a mother. The Woman must be desirable. The Woman must be a caregiver.
When Anna gives birth, she takes on a new role. Everything is centred around her children. As her marriage collapses, she begins an affair with an aging author, only to find herself once again in the role of caregiver. Supporting Act is the study of a woman performing the roles society asks of her, even as they overlap, contradict and subsume each other.
"In my years as a literary critic I have rarely come across anything like it. Supporting Act is a sensational debut."
- Expressen
"Agnes Lidbeck's cold, precise prose scrutinizes the fulfillment of the demands and rituals of love."
- Svenska Dagbladet
"Agnes Lidbeck has written a sharp and haunting debut."
- Kulturnytt, Radio P1
"A powerful novel about submission."
- Vi Laser Magazine
"It is a striking satire... In the details, in the attention to the social game and, in the psychological realism of the moments, Supporting Act is at times genius."
- Nordvastra Skanes Tidningar
"Sometimes you come across real gems: books that are interesting, well-written and well balanced between a neat linguistic style and an engaging story. Rarely, they come from debutants. Agnes Lidbeck's debut novel, about women's roles, self-realization and being content, is an exception."
- Boras Tidning
ISBN: 9781916806085
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown