The Price of Water in Finistre

At the age of 55, Swedish writer Bodil Malmsten abandons her native country and settles in Brittany. Embroidered in this memoir are poignant, outraged, thought-provoking observations on a sweeping range of subjects—the elicit pleasures of bargain-hunting, the misery of writer’s block, social democracy, racism, tulipomania, the controlling of moles and slugs, death, and the delights of wild weather. Malmsten’s passion and humor shine through every episode, offering the reader a window into a solitary life at once touching and hilarious.