A feminist cult classic about love, independence and what it means to be an individual, translated into English for the first time
‘I want to have him, I really do. I just don’t want him to have me.’
Martina and Gustav, students in 1970s Stockholm, meet and fall immediately into coupledom. But what is coupledom? A route to marriage? A declaration of co-dependency? A new dimension of commitment and responsibility? A sexual confrontation? Or is it a habit that an intelligent person must consider breaking? Martina and Gustav discuss their relationship endlessly, between themselves and with others, as they try to make it work.
Engagement, set during a time of social change and political upheaval, sees Martina trying to engage with the world on her own terms. Unwilling to marry, she finds herself in a state of permanent engagement while her friends settle down to marriage and children; uncertain of the world’s future, she engages with demos, sit-ins and philosophy seminars in her quest for a new blueprint for joy. First published in 1976, when it was heralded as an instant classic, Engagement remains as relevant, hilarious and heartbreaking today.
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Engagement 9780241688120 Paperback
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Engagement, Gun-Britt Sundström
I have to say I was riveted by this book. Written through eyes of a completely selfish young woman, (set in the liberating days of the 1960s), who has the chance to love but ultimately rejects it because of higher ideals which she thinks will lead her to a better place than just another woman force…
I have to say I was riveted by this book. Written through eyes of a completely selfish young woman, (set in the liberating days of the 1960s), who has the chance to love but ultimately rejects it because of higher ideals which she thinks will lead her to a better place than just another woman forced into what she believes can only be a submissive role; like so many other women in the past. Watching her justify her behaviour in the belief that it will make her happier than the submitting herself to societal pressure and expectations is fascinating. This is a blow by blow account of a young woman trying to have her cake and eat it; justifying her sometimes very indulgent behaviour (which she often owns), while at the same trying desperately to find and live her own truth. I sympathise with her, it made me reflect on my own motives and my decisions (as a much younger woman), yet I couldn’t help but pity her too. Ultimately, she ends up forcing away the only man she believes can make her happy and loses him … for now. He, inevitably, after holding out for her as long as he can, finds another relationship and is led up the path of conventionality. I read this quickly and being in Martina’s head (the main character) was really interesting and thought provoking on so many levels.
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Engagement, Gun-Britt Sundström
I have to say I was riveted by this book. Written through eyes of a completely selfish young woman, (set in the liberating days of the 1960s), who has the chance to love but ultimately rejects it because of higher ideals which she thinks will lead her to a better place than just another women force…
I have to say I was riveted by this book. Written through eyes of a completely selfish young woman, (set in the liberating days of the 1960s), who has the chance to love but ultimately rejects it because of higher ideals which she thinks will lead her to a better place than just another women forced into what she believes can only be a submissive role; like so many other women in the past. Watching her justify her behaviour in the belief that it will make her happier than the submitting herself to societal pressure and expectations is fascinating. This is a blow by blow account of a young woman trying to have her cake and eat it; justifying her sometimes very indulgent behaviour (which she often owns), while at the same trying desperately to find and live her own truth. I sympathise with her, it made me reflect on my own motives and my decisions (as a much younger woman), yet I couldn’t help but pity her too. Ultimately, she ends up forcing away the only man she believes can make her happy and loses him … for now. He, inevitably, after holding out for her as long as he can, finds another relationship and is led up the path of conventionality. I read this quickly and being in Martina’s head (the main character) was really interesting and thought provoking on so many levels.
- Authors:
- Sundstrom, Gun-Britt
- Year Published:
- 2025
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Format:
- Paperback
- ISBN:
- 9780241688120
- Number of Pages:
- 512
- Publication Date:
- 03/07/2025
- Publisher:
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Series:
- Penguin Modern Classics
- Language:
- English
- Place of Publication:
- London
- SKU:
- 9780241688120