Synopsis
The International Bestselling Memoir
Will You Care If I Die? is an unforgettable memoir about social class, race, friendship and unexpected love, and a blazingly topical exploration of social polarization and the rise of the far right.
'A raw, intimate story of trust and betrayal' – A. L. Kennedy, The Guardian
'It's heartbreaking. It's scary. It's beautiful' – Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove
In Sweden, where children murder children and where gun violence is the worst in Europe, Nicolas Lunabba's job as a social organizer with Malmö's underclass requires firm boundaries and emotional detachment. But all that changes when he meets Elijah – an unruly teenage boy of mixed heritage whose perilous future reminds Nicolas of his own troubled and violent past.
Allowing Elijah into his home and then into his heart, Nicolas crosses one of his own red lines. With the odds stacked against them, and completely unprepared for the journey he and Elijah now set off on together, can Nicolas keep Elijah safe from harm and steer him towards a better future?
Written as a letter to Elijah, Will You Care If I Die? tells Nicolas and Elijah’s story – and asks us to reimagine what it means to care for one another in an uncaring world.
Translated from the Swedish by Henning Koch
Details
27 February 2025
9781035022595Reviews
An honourable book that aims full tilt for truth and confronts despair, cruelty, waste, rage and pain with a kind of contagious defiance.
A piercingly graceful and furiously intelligent book about class, race and the complexities of love. Its account of a single relationship expands into a devastating indictment of the cruelties society inflicts on powerless individuals. It shook me to my core.
It's heartbreaking. It's scary. It's beautiful.
It's rare that something leaves such a lasting impression on me, but this really did . . . Empathically portrays reality, while leaving room for hope. An astonishing book.
