What’s wrong with men

Last week I listened to The Doll Factory and was at the same time reading the new Swedish suspense novel Råttkungen (The Rat King) and I must say that the thought hit me once and again – what’s wrong with men?

Don’t worry, I know it’s all fiction, make believe, and that most men are great. There are all kinds, just like there’s all kind of women. But, all the news articles about incels, men who hate women and blame them for their own involuntary celibacy, has shaken me. I simple can’t understand how they think. I’m chocked. And it Råttkungen by Paschal Engman just made it even more scary.

To read The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal enhances that feeling. This book is not about incels per say, but the feeling is the same. A feeling of discomfort haunts me while reading. I simply can’t understand how people think.

While Råttkungen is set in Stockholm in the wake of me-too, The Doll Factory is set in 1850s London in an intriguing setting of the World Exhibition and the bohemian artist circuits. A beautiful and alluring setting where a creepy man gets obsessed by one of the women. And he’s willing to do anything to get what he wants.

Both books are very skillfully written and it’s hard, nearly impossible to stop reading – the best thing you can say about a book if you ask me.