She worked as a cultural journalist for
Dagens Nyheter,
Expressen,
Sveriges Radio P1, and
SVT. She also worked as a literary critic for
Aftonbladet and
Sydsvenskan. Her first book, a travel guidebook titled
Helsingfors: från Kalevala till Snowcrash, was published in 1999.
Dagens Nyheter critic Ole Hessler wrote that it departed from the traditional guidebook format, focusing on idiosyncratic local details rather than traditional landmarks like the
Uspenski Cathedral. Jordahl's 2003 book
Klass — är du fin nog? brought her to increased prominence. In it, she argues that class is a sociological construction rooted in intangible feeling, accompanied by invisible markers like given names, rather than just a quantity of wealth. She recounts her own "class journey" (
klassresa), from a working-class background to a journalist at major Swedish newspapers. In addition to memoir, the work incorporates three interviews representing different class experiences: with her mother Elsvig Svensson (a retired nurse), (poet and bureaucrat), and
David Lagercrantz (author). Jordahl contends that class disparity has intensified in Sweden, which creates significant material and emotional barriers for those seeking social mobility. In 2004, she was awarded the Ludvig Nordström Prize, in recognition of her contributions to cultural journalism. In 2006, she published two books:
Var kommer du ifrån?, an essay collection, and
Att besegra fru J, a biography about
Elsie Johansson. Her debut novel,
Jag skulle vara din hund (om jag bara finge vara i din närhet), was published in 2009. The novel focuses on the relationship between
Ellen Key, a feminist writer and education advocate, and , a literary critic. They exchanged passionate letters for over a decade; the relationship ended after von Feilitzen's wife discovered the nature of their correspondence. Key destroyed all but two of their letters in the aftermath. Jordahl was inspired by the lack of certain historical answers regarding their relationship. She won the
Moa Award in 2010. In 2011, she published
Augustenbad, en sommar. Her 2014 novel
Låt inte den här stan plåga livet ur dig, Mona told the story of a Swedish maid in the 1960s. In 2016, she published
Som hundarna i Lafayette Park, which focused on a 65-year woman from
Norrbotten, who becomes interested in the American civil rights movement after her husband's death in an industrial accident. For this novel she won the . The same year, she was also awarded the for her exploration of class issues. She was awarded the in 2017. She won the
Eva Bonnier Foundation's 70th Anniversary scholarship for her 2019 essay
Orm med två huvuden. She won the in 2020. In 2022, she published
Björnjägarens döttrar, which was inspired by
Aleksis Kivi's classic novel
Seitsemän veljestä. Björnjägarens döttrar was positively received by literary critic for
Aftonbladet. It was also nominated for the
August Prize and the . Her next novel, a piece of historical fiction titled
Kallet, was published in 2026. It tells the story of three people living in
Jämtland during the Nazi occupation of Norway in 1940, and was praised by Samuel Levander in
Dagens Nyheter. == Selected works ==