Read Adelle Stripe's review of The Book of ABBA: Melancholy Undercover in this week's Times Literary Supplement...
'Just how compelling can an approved biography of ABBA, perhaps the most enigmatic pop band of the twentieth century, really be? As one of Sweden’s most respected music journalists, Jan Gradvall has been given the impossible task of unlocking this intangible subject; his authorized account acts as a survey of their extended appeal, influences and cultural background, rather than providing a conventional narrative journey. To some extent Melancholy Undercover is as much a chronicle of Swedish music history since the Second World War as it is about the group, who remain unknowable even after more than 300 pages devoted to them...'