[Review] The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
When claustrophobia and fanaticism collide
Pitching something as Midsommar meets Blair Witch Project is an incredibly high bar to set, one that surely sets readers and authors alike on pins and needles. The expectations that come along with that kind of description are equal parts daunting and irresistibly enticing. Fortunately for us readers, Camilla Sten and translator Alexandra Fleming know how to travel such perilous roads with ease and finesse. The Lost Village proves to be both true to such a lofty comparison and stand on its own merits as a worthy entry in cult-thriller fiction.
The Lost Village tells of Alice Lindstedt, a documentary filmmaker who sets out with a handpicked crew to begin work on her dream project of discovering what happened in her grandmother’s village in 1959. The story she knows is that they all disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a woman stoned to death in the town square and a baby crying up in the schoolroom. But why? Why was Brigitta stoned to death, why was the baby left behind, and where did an entire town of people disappear to? Alice is determined to answer these questions and learn as much as she can about her grandmother’s childhood home and family, but it may not be as abandoned as she first thought…
Alice and her team arrive with the intent of staying only five days in the town, but almost as soon as the sun goes down strange things begin to happen. Tensions rise and relationships are tested. Five days is no time at all, but when long-buried secrets come bubbling to the surface, they begin to worry if they’ll make it out alive to tell the tale of Silvertarjn after all.
Camilla Sten’s ability to wind the past and the present together into one large claustrophobic and propulsive tale makes this a veritably unputdownable novel of fanaticism across generations. In the past, an entire town driven into hysterics by an enigmatic new personality, in the present Alice’s obsession with getting her film made and discovering her truths.
The most heartbreaking element is the core story of Brigitta, a woman thought to be a witch and consequently stoned in the church square. The truth of her is much more complex than any religious sect would be able to explain or understand, and Camilla Sten’s ability to keep her a sympathetic figure amid so much in-novel vitriol speaks to how much she cares about portraying complex, meaningful characters. The last quarter of The Lost Village keeps readers on an emotional tightrope; the more light is shed on the mysterious town’s secrets, the darker it becomes and the more we feel as though we cannot look away. There are people within this novel that feel deeply as though they should be honored and given a voice to tell their side of things, and Sten provides it for them and for us.
Sten’s storytelling ability is so deft you almost don’t feel yourself being pulled in. She manages to paint these characters in strokes just broad and detailed enough for us to connect on a nearly subconscious level. At one point in the last third or so of the book I felt my heart twist and break in the space of a sentence in a way I haven’t felt in quite some time. A prolific author in her home country, I feel Sten’s future American translations will be ones to keep an eye out for.
I would like to thank the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
