The publishing house is anchored like a ship along Stockholm’s main street, a large, bright building with an impressive rooftop terrace. The facade is a grid of wood and granite; flags with a cursive R sway in the wind. R as in Rydéns.

A young woman starts as an intern at this venerated institution, and over many years gains more and more responsibility for its authors and books. All under the supervision of Gunnar, publishing director of the most prestigious imprint behind the finest literature, Andromeda.

Over time their work relationship transforms into something neither of them can truly define. Perhaps built on mutual trust? Or is it something else?

I remember my first day working in publishing: staring up at the shiny facade of a building in midtown Manhattan, wearing some strange attempt at “corporate” cobbled together in the fluorescent depths of TJ Maxx. Basically The Devil Wears Prada, except the Devil was a huge slush pile of manuscripts and the Prada was that literature-themed tote bag I just had to have. Many years and countless manuscripts later, Andromeda reminds me yet again why literature, and its pursuit, is such a vital compulsion.

At Rydens, a storied publishing house in Stockholm, Sofie starts out as an intern. Her incisive critique of a newly-published novel draws the attention of Gunnar, a legendary editor-in-chief. So begins a years-long professional mentorship and collaboration. Over weekly lunches at a bar near the office, Sofie and Gunnar exchange ideas about books, culture, and art. The tension between their professional relationship and the unspoken magnetism between them is palpable, but goes studiously unacknowledged. Time passes in a whirl of rooftop parties, successful book launches, and rave reviews—but as it always has, the world of books adapts to the culture it informs, and soon Sofie and Gunnar must navigate a new era in publishing and in their own lives.

The intimidating old-world glamour of a European publishing house comes to life in this novel exploring the complicated cultural and personal dynamics of the literary world. Andromeda deftly and incisively poses big questions about culture, power, and art’s role in challenging or upholding the status quo.