Sofia Rönnow Pessah

Sofia Rönnow Pessah (1989) is an author and human rights lawyer. She made her literary debut in 2020 with The Men in My Life to high praise from critics and readers alike. Rönnow Pessah was born in Malmö but lived in Bruxelles for many years while working for Save the Children. Today she resides in Stockholm as a freelancer. Rönnow Pessah is part of the author panel on Babel, Sweden’s biggest TV program dedicated to literature.

Reviews

“Intriguing!”
Berliner Zeitung (DE)

“An intense plot filled with truth.”
Neue Passauer Presse (DE)

“In a sober manner the main character tells us about one sexpartner after another, and shatters the cliché that women always wants love… the line between exhilaration and the abyss lie close together. And; You will recognize yourself!”
Cosmopolitan (DE)

“Behind her confident facade snd obsessive need for sex lies loneliness and depression. A ruthless depiction of the thin line between thrills and pain.”
Playboy (DE)

“The new generational novel is here.”
Upsala Nya Tidning (SE)

“This book should above all be read by men who think they understand female sexuality, or by those who coolly don’t give a damn about it and think women are sex robots.”
Dagens Nyheter (SE)

“Pop culture often jokes about women who want sex, aren’t slim, are felt-up and drink too much (think Bridget Jones), but Rönnow Pessah’s book does the opposite. It takes Sonia’s pain seriously and lets us laugh at the men instead. […] Rönnow Pessah’s prose is captivating, high speed and devoid of unnecessary details.”
Svenska Dagbladet (SE)

“A story that echos of loneliness. The Men in My Life is one of the most heartbreaking novels I have ever read.”
Expressen (SE)

“It is intentionally unerotic – spot on and very well done. It’s also refreshing how Sonia’s gaze at men is sexualizing, objectifying, and judgmental.”
Helsingborgs Dagblad (SE)

“Intimate. Anguished. Destructive. Mechanical. Obsessive. These words depict the meetings with the men – which to amplify the objectifying anonymity – are called number 1, number 2, number 3… The structure is intriguing.”
Borås Tidning (SE)

“The Men in My Life is a feminist novel even though it makes fun of the patriarchy on the patriarchy’s own terms. At the same time, it’s a #metoo-novel in the sense that most of the men are quite afraid of crossing a line but do it anyway.”
Göteborgs – Posten (SE)

“As chapters and numbers continue to rack up, the purpose of the novel’s structure is made clear, as the lighthearted feeling of being slightly amused turns into deep devastation. The self-hatred takes center stage, and what could have been a funny anecdote slowly gets under your skin, a reminder of the fathomless number of tears that the patriarchy is responsible for.”
Sundsvall Tidning (SE)