Liza Marklund’s bestselling literary debut, Underground, is the true story of a woman, a mother, a survivor and her unwavering struggle to see her children grow up in safety and freedom. With more than 900.000 copies sold in Sweden alone, Underground is one of the most talked-about books in Sweden over the last two decades. Sadly, the book’s timeless relevance lies in that we all know someone, be it relative or friend, who has been caught in an abusive relationship. We are aware that it can happen to anyone, regardless of personality, education or background. Although based on the story of Maria Eriksson, Underground lends a voice to all battered women and their relatives. What makes Maria Eriksson’s story unique is not the years of terror and flight, but the fact that she survived. She could just as well have ended up a statistic, an item in the local newspaper of a “family tragedy”.

Underground is a fascinating story not only of domestic violence, but of one woman’s fierce determination to save her children. The descriptions of how Maria and her husband Anders devote all their waking hours to playing, singing and drawing with their children, are extremely moving. Maria and Anders fill the suffocating isolation with games and art projects, doing everything they can to provide their children with a normal life. In an accessible and straight-forward prose, Liza Marklund skillfully conveys the strong emotions of a family living underground: terrible claustrophobia and fear, intense longing for a home, the bond of motherhood, and pure survival instinct.