Facts: Negar Naseh
Born: 1984 in Uppsala.
Do: Author and doctor. Has previously written “Under all this winter”, “The displaced” and “A handful of wind”.
Current: With “A farmer’s death” together with David Sandström.
The couple Negar Naseh and David Sandström are known from different quarters. She has written three acclaimed novels and also works as a doctor. He is a musician, mainly known as the drummer in the hardcore band Refused.
They have been a couple for almost 15 years but it is only now that they are doing a joint project – although they have been talking about it for a long time.
“A farmer’s death” began with the protagonist Marita Widmark, whom they fantasized together. When they made her a civilian investigator and placed her in a village near the fictional Brännliden in Västerbotten, the story came: a farmer is found frozen to death on the farm and Marita Widmark begins to investigate the case.
That it would be a thriller was not obvious, but they realized that the genre is grateful when you have to depict a place – in this case a village – and its inhabitants.
“If a case is to be investigated, the person has reason to go around and talk to everyone,” says David Sandström.
Wanted to portray authentically
He himself is from Umeå, but as an adult has also lived in the village of Brände in Robertsfors municipality. There is a peculiar and unique culture there, he believes. The village consists of newcomers who commute to their office jobs in Skellefteå and Umeå, but also of the farming family who have farmed the land for several generations.
— It’s a strange mix of people. I have not read an authentic account of what it is like. It doesn’t have to be that way in fiction, but portraying it authentically was a driving force for me to write the book, says David Sandström.
“We have tried to achieve a rich depiction of friendship relationships,” says David Sandström about what they wanted to achieve with the book.
TT: Detective stories include crime, but also often people who are considered unethical. How have you reasoned about the fact that detective stories could reinforce the stereotype of the people in the northern countryside?
— It is not only that which can be generalized in suspense novels. Female murder victims and the police are also portrayed stereotypically. We certainly did not want to stick in and reinforce an image of the people as village flags, says Negar Naseh.
TT: How do you think it will be received in Västerbotten?
– No clue. It is perhaps not entirely comfortable to live in a place where you are not portrayed, and so this book is published by a Stockholm publishing house, says David Sandström.
Negar Naseh has another picture:
— I think it will be loved! Those who like to read will enjoy reading, I think we portray people with great tenderness.
Relationships before murder investigation
And it is precisely the people, and the relationships between them, that are in focus in “A farmer’s death” – not the investigation. Here, too, Negar Naseh and David Sandström have wanted to depart from stereotypes, and above all when it comes to the main character Marita Widmark, who is around 60 years old.
— She is passionate about what she does and has a sexual relationship that is focused on lust. We were tired of the portrayal that if a woman loves her job, she must be lonely and miserable in private, says Negar Naseh.
Writer Negar Naseh and musician David Sandström currently live in Uppsala and have been a couple since 2009.
TT: Where does her passion for the job come from?
“Many people who love what they do can probably get drunk from it.” There doesn’t have to be anything negative about being a workaholic, says David Sandström.
TT: Are you workaholics?
— David is, says Negar Naseh and is agreed by David Sandström:
— It would have been a nightmare if I couldn’t work.
Chaotic couple
They describe themselves as chaotic and unplanned, though not in writing. They are different: Negar Naseh is a loner, while David Sandström has lived in collectives and played in bands since he was twelve.
“I get obsessed easily and can’t really compromise,” says David Sandström with a laugh.
TT: A lot has been written about conflicts within Refused. Has it been easier to work together because you are a couple?
— I also want to decide. It has been difficult to agree on a text. If we didn’t have a contract for another book, we would never write another one together, Negar Naseh answers jokingly.