Set in the once-great Midwestern city of Trude-a treacherous maze of convoluted shopping malls, barricaded libraries, and elitist assisted-living homes-Lundgren's novel follows a disconsolate legal clerk named Sven Norberg, who sets out to investigate his wife's disappearance. Written with boundless intelligence and razor-sharp wit, The Facades is a comic and existential mystery that unfolds at the urgent pace of a thriller. The Facades has been met with rapturous reviews upon its publication, and will be read and discussed for many years to come.