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Magma

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Magma

By: Thora Hjörleifsdóttir, Meg Matich - translator
Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt
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About this listen

Twenty-year-old Lilja is in love.

He is older and beautiful, a Derrida-quoting intellectual.

He is also a serial cheater, gaslighter and narcissist.

Lilja will do anything to hold on to him.

And so she accepts his deceptions and endures his sexual desires. She rationalises his toxic behaviour and permits him to cross all her boundaries. In her desperation to be the perfect lover, she finds herself unable to break free from the toxic cycle. And then an unexpected ultimatum: an all-consuming love or the promise of a life reclaimed.

Thora Hjörleifsdóttir explores the darkest corners of relationships, exposing the undercurrents of violence that often go undetected. In an era of growing pornification, she deftly illustrates the failings of our culture to recognise symptoms of cruelty. In visceral, poetic prose, translated from Icelandic by Meg Matich, Magma depicts the unspooling of a tender-hearted young woman aching to love and be loved.

©2021 Thora Hjörleifsdóttir and Meg Matich (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Limited Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

"A compulsive and propulsive debut." (Lily King)

"A luminous and poetic novel.... [Hjörleifsdóttir] has created a whole new landscape for storytelling." (John Freeman)
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This book is incredibly powerful. It’s dark and not for the faint of heart, really short chapters about separate incidents in this dis functional, toxic and to her inescapable relationship with a man who in my opinion is sub human. Excellent read

Wow

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Searingly honest. Painful. Anyone ever involved with a Narcissist - of real NPD disorder should listen to this terrific debut novel. The story perfectly and observes the easy self- justification of loving such a man. The author writes so clearly and even the shocking parts are handled so well. It is impossible to put down. Seems so utterly authentic.
Beautifully read by Genevieve Gaunt. She captures the blind adoration of the victim of narcissism even when the red flags are popping up every page.

Every woman should read this....

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A story with the gravity of a true lived in reality. There’s no artifice, equal parts candid portrayal and heart wrenching pain. Hjörleifsdóttir doesn’t allow a barrier to come between the narrator and the reader’s sense of empathy. Profoundly human. Achingly beautiful.

Gripping and poignant

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