Faye Adelheim has it all—a wealthy, handsome husband, an expensive home, and a beautiful little girl. But when her fairy-tale life fractures, how far will she go to exact revenge?
It would be remiss not to mention the theme of sisterhood in this smart, unflinching novel, seamlessly translated from the Swedish by Neil Smith. Women in it are rarely pitted against one another, but are instead united by common experience. Their friendships are empowering in and of themselves, and the dispensability of the opposite sex — except perhaps for sexual pleasure — speaks volumes. Honest, solicitous men are few and far between but, when they do appear, Lackberg sings their praises, suggesting a war waged not against all men, but only those who encumber and exploit women.
Läckberg has made a career out of writing ingenious psychological suspense stories about vile people doing vile things. In her novels, the world is not 'hygge' — that trendy Scandinavian term for cozy, featured in the likes of Ikea ads heavy on sheepskin throws and lumpy knit lampshades ... The Golden Cage tells a nasty tale about entrenched male domination in a supposedly enlightened society; great wealth and the soul rot it can breed; and the payback — oh, the sweet, sick payback of a woman used and spurned, rising up from the discard pile ... Läckberg’s prose style (as translated by Neil Smith) is flat and direct. Readers aren’t taxed to unpack imagery or allusive language ... D.H. Lawrence Läckberg is not ... Workmanlike titillation aside, the lure of The Golden Cage lies in the moral ambiguity of its heroine: Even as Faye wages a delicious First Wives Club campaign of retaliation and humiliation against the feckless Jack, we readers sense she’s not someone we should blithely root for.
In the spirit of Swedish mystery writers with rich prehistories, Läckberg brings to her work an economics degree from the University of Gothenburg, work experience as an accountant and a recent history of founding startups, including Invest in Her, a venture capital firm that nurtures businesses run by and for women. Her newly translated novel...draws directly on that experience, resulting in a book that is in some ways her most personal thriller, even if its putative feminism leaves something to be desired ... In a Facebook post some two months ago, Läckberg acknowledged The Golden Cage was partly inspired by Fay Weldon’s 1983 novel, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, ... The fury and focus of Weldon’s archetypal jilted woman remains ... But in Läckberg’s reimagining, Faye’s quest also encompasses a genuine impulse toward kinship with similarly abused and underappreciated women ... While The Golden Cage is at times a sexy, deliciously dark journey, its black-and-white perspective on men and women in love and business seem even more dated in the 21st century than Weldon’s romp was in 1983. And if Faye’s weaponizing of her body and business chops weren’t suspect enough, Läckberg’s ignorance, willful or otherwise, of Swedish divorce laws and securities regulations undermines some of her key plot points. Surely Läckberg’s international fans, as well as her presumed target audience...deserve better...
