Aprilhäxan

From Publishers Weekly Desiree (meaning "desired one") Johansson is the ironically named daughter of Ella Johansson ironic because Ella abandoned her at birth. In the Swedish welfare state of the 1950s, Desiree's birth defects (cerebral palsy, epilepsy and physical deformation) meant a life in institutions. Now nearing 50, she is increasingly wracked by pain and seizures, and the only person she ever loved, her doctor, Hubertsson, is dying. But she...