This book was first published in Sweden in 1976 and became a feminist classic. This is the first translation available in English.

The story is about the relationship, the ‘engagement’, between Martina and Gustav who meet as students and go on to live a life of on and off coupledom. The narrator is Martina. Gustav anticipates a future with marriage and children but Martina struggles, fretting about a possible loss of independence.

That is the major theme and preoccupation of the novel, and the question of how an independent woman can both continue to be independent and married to a man. Even when the man is as liberal and generous as Gustav is, Martina fears losing her freedom, being owned and accountable to another person, and having to compromise over everything from love-making and menus to in-laws!

As the novel develops, it is clear that Martina finds it difficult to be more than ‘engaged’ to anything let alone Gustav. Martina has similar problems in relation to her studies, employment, and politics! This is a long book and it is quite easy to lose patience with Martina who wants to have Gustav but will not allow him to have her! All of this leads to complications in how they operate together, emotionally and practically. Sometimes, there is a sense of repetition!

It isn’t a feminist classic in the sense of being a strong statement in favour of female independence but its strength lies in the exploration of what it means to be a woman at a time of gender equality. It’s a good read and will make you think.