The Death Chant

Max Byström Beydogan

In the dim moonlight, I could make out the silhouette of a large man sitting in front of the TV. He slowly turned his face towards me, as he pushed his glasses upwards. It was the man I saw in the bathroom before. I ran out in the hall, got my shoes on and escaped into the stairwell. The elevator doors opened. The gray lady with the dirty nightgown stood inside although it was the middle of the night. I took the stairs instead. Ran staggeringly down them, almost falling headfirst. Finally, outside our building, I saw the little girl in pajama watching me from the sandbox. I avoided looking at her, walked as far away from her as I could, out onto the street.

One day, Doris Kowalski’s dad disappears. He walks out onto the ice one early morning and is never to be seen again. Five years later, Doris is 13 years old and no one in the world seems to want to find out what happened to him. Her mom decides to have him declared dead. With the help of a special death chant and a living snake, Doris and her friend Tindra try to get in touch with dad one last time. If he’s really dead, maybe they can contact him on the other side. But they mess up the ritual and it doesn’t work like they hoped. Instead, Doris starts seeing dead people everywhere. A young girl turns up on the playground outside Doris’ house, and the ghost of an grumpy police detective sits in her living room listening to classical music. Maybe he can help Doris in finding out what happened to her dad.

A fast-paced story with unforgettable characters, about saying goodbye, letting go and moving on.

Max Byström Beydogan is a journalist, and this is his debut book.

The Death Chant is nominated for the debut prize Slangbellan, the jury motivation:

“With a skilful hand Max Bystrom Beydogan weaves together strong themes that touches with a breathtaking story where the dead plays a central role. Sadness gets mixed with humour and as a reader you get pulled into an adventure. The Death Chant succeeds with something refreshing and surprisingly new from the traditional ghost story.”

Press voice

“(…) The death Chant is well written and succeeds in telling its own story with odd elements. Most importantly Max Byström Beydogan has a deep understanding for all the unmanageable feelings that all humans have to live with, no matter the age.” Dagens Nyheter