Swedish Literature

J

Johan

Reader
Bjorn said:
Oh yes, on both counts. Nilson is a favourite, though I must admit that I haven't read a lot of his "straight" fiction; but his semi-non-fiction works on philosophy/astronomy/physics are among the best things I've read.

Dagerman is getting reprinted this year, about time.
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Out of idle curiosity I did a quick search at the major online books stores, it appears that only one of Kyrklund's works is currently in print: Polyfem F?rvandlad.

There should be a special tribunal in The Hague for criminally negligent publishers.
 
E

Eric

Former Member
Thanks, Johan, for the information about the Finland-Swedish poetry reading on CD. I hadn't heard of it.

In about 1979 (sic!), I went to Vasa from Jakobstad where I was living at the time and watched Stina Ekblad reading a monologue reading of M?rta Tikkanen's poetic book about her paralytic writer husband Henrik, called "?rhundradets k?rlekssaga" (Love Story of the Century). Ekblad was really good. I belong to those who do not like poetry readings, but this performance, which I think I saw twice, was brilliant. I also saw Ekblad do a kind of musical play at Stockholm Stadsteater with Bitta Ulfsson called "N?r man har k?nslor", some years later.

Those who have seen the Bergman film "Fanny and Alexander" may remember Stina Ekblad changing gender to play the weird reclusive teenage boy Ishmael, whom Alexander meets briefly.

She also starred in an East German TV version of Heinrich Mann's novel or novella "Ein ernstes Leben". And I think she was also in the play by Per Olov Enquist called "August Strindberg - ett liv" about Strindberg's women. Ekblad played Strindberg's Finland-Swedish wife Siri von Essen as she could adopt the genuine accent. And she played Agnes von Krusenstjerna in "Amorosa".

So this is certainly not the first time I've heard of Stina Ekblad and her friend Jan Dolata.
 
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Eric

Former Member
A question for the Swedes here. Have you read the following books, or anything by their authors? If so, what did you think?

Jens Liljestrand: Paris-Dakar
Kalle Dixelius: Toffs bok
John Ajvide Lindqvist: Pappersv?ggar
Per Hagman: Skugglegender

I happen to have copies of all four, but have never read anything by the authors, so I don't really know where to start.
 
J

Johan

Reader
All I can tell you is that Per Hagman has reputation as a somewhat silly person, and that I really liked Ajvide Lindqvist's "L?t den r?tte komma in", and that's coming from someone who usually falls asleep at the first mention of anything supernatural. The movie is also great.
 
E

Eric

Former Member
Thanks Johan and Bj?rn. You give me some ideas and what to look out for, or be warned about. Actually, despite what I said previously, I have read one story in "Pappersv?ggar" by Ajvide called "Gr?ns". I liked it. But the other authors are new to me. I'm still discovering what's being written in Swedish during the first decade of the 21st century (and the last one of the 20th).
 
O

Omo

Reader
I've heard several times of Carl Michael Bellman now, and found him again today mentioned in Warneken's Schubart biography which I'm currently reading. In this book both are compared and said to have been similar characters, but since I do not know a thing about Bellman (and Scandinavian literature in general) I would like to know from the Swedes present in this forum what of his oeuvre could be a good entry into his works? I ponder on purchasing a selection of his poetry.
 
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Eric

Former Member
Bj?rn, what do you think of the Ulf Eriksson novel "Varelser av glas"? Why I ask is because I found a review of it on a Latvian literary site and it has been translated into Latvian by the translator Juris Kronbergs who is, in fact, a Swede and the son of Latvian parents.
 
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Eric

Former Member
I'm not sure I understand. Does "Too Swedish, didn't read" mean that you didn't read the book but still reviewed it? Surely not. I had, of course, already found that review, but not everyone on this chatsite knows Swedish, so I thought you might say a few words to those who don't know your language.

I agree that poetic novels can be too poetic. I note that someone said your review was "spiteful" (elak). Please explain more. The whole debate on your website fizzled out in August 2005. Yet the Latvians have now translated it. Why would Latvians like it, but not Swedes?

I think I heard about Eriksson when I was living in Sweden during the 1980s. Is that possible? Had he written things then?
 
Bjorn

Bjorn

Reader
Eric said:
I'm not sure I understand. Does "Too Swedish, didn't read" mean that you didn't read the book but still reviewed it? Surely not.
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Of course not. I don't review books I haven't read. It was supposed to be a (very) quick summary for those who couldn't read the review because of it being in Swedish.

I had, of course, already found that review, but not everyone on this chatsite knows Swedish, so I thought you might say a few words to those who don't know your language.
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Sure. If anyone who doesn't speak Swedish is interested, let me know and I could translate the review when I have the time.

I note that someone said your review was "spiteful" (elak). Please explain more.
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I didn't say it, I couldn't possibly explain why they said it. I don't think my review was spiteful - slightly sarcastic, perhaps. ETA: And I wouldn't translate "elak" as "spiteful" - "mean" covers it better, I think.

The whole debate on your website fizzled out in August 2005. Yet the Latvians have now translated it. Why would Latvians like it, but not Swedes?
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Well, presumably some Swedes liked it, since it got published in the first place. I don't claim to speak for all Swedes.

I think I heard about Eriksson when I was living in Sweden during the 1980s. Is that possible? Had he written things then?
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Wikipedia says he debuted in 1982. I've never read anything else by him, and I don't think I'm very likely to. It's not that he's bad, he's just not my cup of tea at all.
 
E

Eric

Former Member
To reply to a number of things that Bj?rn mentions:

I'm glad you read the things you review. There is a technique, developed by some, of reading the blurb, the first ten pages, then quoting at random, and pretending to have read the book they review. An art, in the sense of being artful.

"Mean" is an Americanism. It may be catching on in Britain, but not to the extent that it means anything but "sn?l" to several million Britons. So I will stick to "spiteful", though maybe "snide", "nasty" or "cutting" would be appropriate.

I saw an interesting little article by Ulf Eriksson in Wednesday's (3rd March 2010) Svenska Dagbladet about the Finland-Swedish poet Ralf Andtbacka. Prose poetry, miniatures, that kind of thing.
 
waalkwriter

waalkwriter

Reader
Can those of you well-read and studied in Swedish literature answer a question for me. The English-written information I have on Nobel Laureate Selma Lagerlof, makes it seem that only thing she wrote of importance was the Children's book "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils", which makes it seem strange she would win a Nobel on such a limited canon.
 
H

hdw

Reader
waalkwriter said:
Can those of you well-read and studied in Swedish literature answer a question for me. The English-written information I have on Nobel Laureate Selma Lagerlof, makes it seem that only thing she wrote of importance was the Children's book "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils", which makes it seem strange she would win a Nobel on such a limited canon.
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Far from it. Read about her here -

Selma Lagerlöf

Of the books I've read, my favourite is Jerusalem: I Dalarne.

Harry
 
E

Eric

Former Member
Harry's right to draw our attention to the full range of Selma Lagel?f's activities and works as posted in the Finnish Kirjasto library website in English. For many years I too entertained the prejudice that Lagerl?f was just another kid's book author, and so shunned her. But the same mistake has been made in the case of Tove Jansson, who was typecast in the English-speaking mind as the Mother of the Moomins. Only recently have her short-stories for adults been translated.

So I will make an attempt to descend into the cellar of the public library and find a few Lagerl?f nuggets.
 
J

Johan

Reader
By chance I found Karin Boye's grave in a nearby cemetary today, and I felt a little guilty for never having read a single line by her, except maybe in school as a child. So, can someone familiar with her recommend something? Kallocain?
 
Bjorn

Bjorn

Reader
Johan said:
By chance I found Karin Boye's grave in a nearby cemetary today, and I felt a little guilty for never having read a single line by her, except maybe in school as a child. So, can someone familiar with her recommend something? Kallocain?
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Yes! As it happens, Kallocain has just been re-released (in Swedish, that is) so it's not only a great book if you're into We-1984-Brave New World type novels, but also easily available. I just bought it myself to re-read.
 
E

Eric

Former Member
Where is Karin Boye buried? I borrowed a book from a library named after her the other day, but I'm not aware as to where she was laid to rest.

I bought "Kallocain" a few days ago in the 1973 Delfin edition which is the one I remember from England during that decade - though I never read it then. I've just read the first paragraph and it looks rather interesting. I've seen some poetry collections in the public library but have not borrowed any to date. Have any of you read her short-stories?

As I wrote on another thread, I bought two short selections of Strindberg's "Giftas" (Getting Married) recently. I like the old spelling. I've only read some of the stories in English. Now I want to read a few more in the original. I must say that Strindberg was being pretty provocative when he starts one volume with quotes from Schopenhauer such as:

"Or?ttvisan ?r kvinnornas arfsynd. Detta h?rleder sig af deras brist p? sundt f?rnuft och reflexionsf?rm?ga, och, hvad som f?rsv?rar detta fel, ?r att naturen, som v?grat dem styrkan, i ers?ttning gifvit dem list. H?raf deras instinktiva skurkaktighet och deras o?fvervinneliga smak f?r l?gnen."
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Which means:

"Injustice is the inherited /or original/ sin of Woman. This is derived from a lack of common sense and an ability to reflect, and what worsens this fault is that Nature, which has denied them strength, has given them guile by way of compensation. Hence their instinctive roguishness and their insuperable taste /or penchant/ for lies."
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If they ever grow another Strindberg from stem cells, perhaps they should make him one of the judges of the Orange. What do say, Colette? Wasn't it an orange that Eve bit into in the Garden of Eden? Though, as any Strindberg scholar will tell you, he had mellowed a great deal by the time he was writing "A Dream Play", as we can see at the end of Bergman's film "Fanny and Alexander" where the introduction to that play is quoted from.
 
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