Sashaying Through Sweden

Herewith begins the Swedish Sashay otherwise known as the Swedish Schottische, wherein we will dance, drink, partake of, and make much talk of Swedish literature (excluding Swedish detective fiction). Unfortunately, we do have a breakaway rebel (Nickelini), who is refusing to toe the party line about detective fiction. Reading suggestions, comments by wisacres, etc., can be found here.

Thanks for the reminder! Pulled Unto A Good Land off the shelf to add it to the pile of books I am actually reading.

Oh dear... I started out early with a couple of Wallander novels, but hadn't read the small print! Never mind, it's still early and I have several Swedish novels on the TBR pile.

I'm expecting to start my Geatish reads in a weak or so, once both Clarel and Le Mis behind me.

Started Unto a Good Land, and it is going pretty quickly. Moberg conveys so well the fear and wonder experienced by the new Swedish immigrants as they debark and begin their journey to Minnesota. I am enjoying this so far better than the first book, and am now looking for copies of the third and fourth books.

and make much talk of Swedish literature (excluding Swedish detective fiction). Unfortunately, we do have a breakaway rebel (Nickelini), who is refusing to toe the party line about detective fiction.

Hey, hey, hey . . . not so fast. The book I have down for this read is The Royal Physician's Visit, by Per Olov Enquist, which as far as I can tell is not detective fiction. If I ever finish the very long book I'm currently reading, and then read the ER book I'm committed to, and then if I finish the very long and boring-looking Palace Walk for my f2f book club, I will get to The Royal Physician's Visit. When I finish that, and if it's still January, and if I'm not bogged down with school work, I thought I'd read the only other Swedish book out of my 400+ TBR stack, which is detective fiction (the title escapes me at the moment). I've never read any Scandinavian detective stories, and it would be a new and wildly exotic read. So, to summarize, I have no qualms about being a rebel, but there are a great number of Ifs to get through before I can honestly claim that title. Just thought I'd clarify.

Well, I shall bake my korv, douse it with lingonberry sauce, and quaff glogg with my mother's pepperkakor as I dip into Torgny Lindgren's Merab's Beauty.

I've just started Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson. Although she lives in New Zealand and writes in English, the author is originally Swedish and this book is set in Sweden. It is about the friendship between two woman in an isolated Swedish village. I shall post more about it when I'm finished.

I may also read a bit of the forbidden detective fiction too this month as I have Roseanna by Maj Sjowall on my pile.

I've orderd Doktor Glas, based on descriptions here on LT, and hope it arrives in time for me to read it this month.

>9 rebeccanyc: I am currently reading Doktor Glas. It is an excellent although depressing book. Earlier in the year I started Gregorius, a recent Swedish publication, that tells the story from the minister's point of view. I stopped midway through because I wanted to read Doktor Glas first. Both books are fascinating at least as far as I have read.

I hesitate to say that sounds good, but I'm afraid I'm a fan of excellent though depressing books! It is hopefully winging its way to me from the Book Depository in England, which offered me a much better price than Amazon, but they don't have that delightful "track your package' feature that Amazon provides so I have no way of knowing when I'll get it.

I was shocked, shocked! I tell you, to note the ban on mystery novels, but noticed that Blackwater was among the suggested titles. Having a copy of said book, I dug it out (with some effort on my part as it was on the top shelf, in the back row) only to find that it's a mystery novel, complete with a decorative smear of blood on the cover illustration.

So is Blackwater still an acceptable choice? It won awards, but so have many other Swedish crime novels. I'm really not trying to be difficult, but what determines whether a book is dismissed as genre fiction or embraced as suitable?

In any case, I'm now reading the Ekman book, quite happily, and I'm content to read this thread and then comment on my own reading on my own thread.

>12 RidgewayGirl: et al. The reason for the ban on mystery novels is that Scandinavian mystery/crime have become the main source of widely publicized translated literature for English-speaking audiences. In the original discussions on the thread in which we discussed 2010 countries, a number of readers agreed that reading other Swedish literature would be more profitable for this group. The prohibition is in no way meant to reflect on the quality of Scandinavian mystery/crime fiction; it is just that right now such novels are a dime a dozen in countries for which English is the primary language. The idea was to get readers to expand beyond what publishers are currently pushing on audiences.

P.S. Ekman is considered a fine writer in her own right. She has written a lot of fiction other than mystery/crime. I would consider her an acceptable choice.

Finished Unto a Good Land. Other than the fact that the Nilssons are Swedish and so was the author, I don't feel that this was a book to give me a flavor of Sweden. His first in this series--The Emmigrants--was a better choice for that. In any event, here are my thoughts:

In this second book in Vilhelm Moberg’s tetralogy about Karl Oskar Nilsson and his family and neighbors, the Swedish emigrants have reached the shores of North America—New York. Karl Oskar set out with his wife, Kristina and their three young children and his younger brother Robert. Robert has studied his book on North American and his book teaching him to speak English. He is the only one of the group who can speak or understand any English at all, and that is limited. Kristina’s uncle Danjel emigrated with his wife, who did not survive the crossing, their four children and Ulrika, “the Glad One”, and her daughter. The Glad One was the parish whore in Sweden to whom Danjel taught the Word of God; he then took her into his household along with her daughter. Danjel is also responsible for Arvind who was a farmhand in Sweden—Danjel paid his passage and Arvind will work for Danjel to pay him back. The book focuses on Karl Oskar and Kristina, but all of the emigrants are ready to find good land upon which to settle and make a good home.

Moberg evinces the fear, wonder, and, sometimes, frustration experienced by Karl Oskar and Kristina, but there is never a feeling of tension. From the beginning, the group is passed from good person to good person who help them make their way from New York to Minnesota where they hope to settle. A few harrowing experiences befall Karl Oskar and Robert. One of Danjel’s children dies. Karl Oskar runs out of money and does not know how his family will survive the harsh winter. Robert and Arvind set out for California to make their fortunes in the gold fields, and we do not know in this book what happens to them or whether they will be heard from again.

Ultimately, however, this tale is primarily one that leaves the reader feeling good about the emigrants, about “North America” and about the prospects for most of them for a bright future. In the true spirit of American freedom and equality, the Nilssons even come to understand that Ulrika became a prostitute as a result of bad things that happened to her from a very young age, and accept the Glad One as a friend. Enjoyable in the best sense of the word, but not a great literary experience.

I am just about to start The Magnetist's Fifth Winter by Per Olov Enquist. I have never read anything by this author, so a new reading adventure begins!

>16 hemlokgang:,

I am so envious. I have not read that particular Enquist book. I must go find a copy.

I guess it is pure serendipity that I've read some books by Swedish authors/set in Sweden recently. Currently reading Astrid Lindgren's The Children of Noisy Village to my youngest right now. We only read one or two chapters a night. Enjoyable.

I've also been dipping in and out of Selma Lagerlöf's oeuvre. Read Gösta Berling's Saga toward the end of last year and just finished her novella, The Lowensköld Ring. I also have in my pile the omnibus edition that combines The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (which I've read) with The Further Adventures of Nils (which I have not read, but plan to read this year). I tend to like writers who delve into regional folklore, and I think Lagerlöf is good at this.

Oh - and I nearly forgot to mention - I've got Frans Gunnar Bengtsson's The Long Ships wishlisted. I think a reissue comes out in May of this year (too late for January, but on my radar).

The Long Ships is a walloping tale of adventure and derring do. Highly recommended if you like this sort of book.

Speaking of Ekman, I believe kambrogi did an excellent review of Kerstin Ekman's "God's Mercy" in Belletrista's current issue. It can be read here: http://www.belletrista.com/2010/issue3/reviews_1.php
The book is a reasonably new translation, I believe.

I'm feeling a bit schizophrenic sashaying back and forth between lyrical stories about pious Swedish farm folk in the early 20th c. in Torgny Lindgren's collection, Merab's Beauty and the saga of a voracious adolescent female vampire in Let the Right One In by John Alvide Lindqvist. But my houseguests have finally left and tomorrow is a holiday, so I am determined to finish one or the other.

The Magnetist's Fifth Winter is turning out to be quite a story. A fictionalized biography (whatever that means) of Friedrich Meisner, a "magnetist" who becomes a spiritual leader of an entire town, a result of his successful cures of many ills. Clearly a cautionary tale about the power and persuasiveness of those most charismatic individuals, and their ability to manipulate people's beliefs.

I am halfway through it......quite intriguing!

I can feel my will-power slipping. The Magnetist's Fifth Winter sounds too good to resist.

Oskar and Eli are next-apartment neighbors in the faceless Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg. Oskar is a 12 year-old overweight, comic book addict who has become the target of class bullies. He dreams of murderous revenge upon his tormentors. Eli is a 12 year-old vampire (really hundreds of years old, but she still remains emotionally 12) who has recently moved into the apartment complex with her "father." During the dark winter nights from October 21, 1981, until Friday, November 13, 1981, Blackeberg is beset by a series of horrific murders. Curiously, however, Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvist is less a gothic novel of terror than an examination of adolescents trying to survive dysfunctional, broken families and a group of middle-aged alcoholics just trying to survive. Although the novel has graphic violence, it's not scary -- the violence is oddly matter-of-fact. It's a rather haunting (and easy) read, certainly a bleak picture of Swedish urban life in the late 20th century.

I'm new to this group and am probably not going to read anything set in Sweden this month - I will probably read about books set in interesting places and post anything of mine that's relevant from an international point of view, but thought this looks interesting.

Oddly, I have quite a lot of Swedish books which aren't crime fiction as well as the Sjowall/Wahloo Martin Beck series (starting with Roseanna - but most of them are written for children and teenagers. Astrid Lindgren is well known but I have quite a few others.

Doctor Glas by Hjalmar Söderberg is a grim but haunting and beautifully written book that takes the form of the private thoughts/diary of a Swedish doctor at the turn of the last century who first becomes obsessed with the problems of a young female patient who is disgusted by her husband and then comes to contemplate murder. Written at at a time when psychiatry was just becoming more widespread, this short novel, almost stream of consciousness, gives the reader deep insight into the narrator's mind, arguments with himself, and self-delusion. The novel also provides an excellent sense of place for both dark and sunny times in Stockholm. It was marred slightly for me by a few anti-Semitic remarks, which I took to be be (sadly) typical of the time and place.

Rebeccanyc, which book was that?

Oops, sorry! Edited to fix.

the pyramid and four other kurt wallander myseries by Henning Mankell

somewhat disappointing as mystery stories. You can see my review here

Thanks, because the book sounds intriguing and I will have to hunt down a copy.

I finished The Magnetist's Fifth Winter. Although there were a few passages in which reading in the original language would likely have been a huge benefit, I thought this was a magnificent novel! Basically the story addresses the suggestibility of the human being to two forms of evil, that from without and that from within the self. The primary themes are: suggestibility, faith, betrayal, and evil.

The most powerful message of all to me was that by remaining silent or standing witness to evil without action, a person is still participating in that evil, and is partially responsible for the consequences. Words to live by.

I finished The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, his Wonderful Love and Terrible Hatred by Carl-Johan Vallgren last night -- it was a delight: a magical realism tour through the underside of early 19th century Northern Europe (unfortunately it doesn't go to Sweden, despite the author's nationality). It reminded at times of Candide and Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus.

The protagonist, Hercule Barfuss is a deaf and dumb, armless, gnome-like savant who does indeed read minds and has preternaturally talented feet and toes. He was born in a brothel on the same night as the perfect Henriette, who becomes his soul-mate, his other half. When they are separated, he spends most of the book trying to find her. There are horrific scenes of suffering at the hands of heartless authorities and of vengeance taken by Hercule. But the book moves swiftly and is, at times, hilarious.

My only caveat was the last chapter. The book is framed by a letters from Hercule's great grandson in Martha's Vineyard to one of his European relatives. The introduction is OK as it leads the reader into Hercule's tale, but the last chapter is a rather flat summing up of his later life in America and a disquisition on the development of deaf education. It's unnecessary and anti-climactic -- way too much denoument. So, my recommendation is to read the book and skip the last chapter, unless you like neatly wrapped-up packages or want to learn more about the history of sign language.

>31 hemlokgang: and >32 janeajones:,

I really want to read both of those book. Alas, the wicked but seductive Baron von Kindle is recalcitrant. He keeps refusing to keep either in his library. I also want several other books by Söderberg. But that stubborn Baron. Barons just aren't what they used to be. I have heard that the Earl of MacIntosh may be coming to the US soon. If so, I'm eloping.

By the way, the protagonist? in Doctor Glas mentions at one point that Stockholm is experiencing a heat wave. If any Swedes happen to drop by, I would love to know what constitutes a "heat wave" in Stockholm. Even in the Skåne, where I have spent most of my summer visits, I've never met a heat wave although the swimming is nice - all that gulf stream - even in March.

oh dear, I think my ancestors are from somewhere around Skåne -- maybe we're distantly related......

I still have a jacket I bought in Stockholm in May because the one I brought with me wasn't warm enough. I wore it today in NYC with the temperature in the low 40s. So I have no idea what a heat wave there would be!

>35 janeajones: jane, I would be delighted if we were related. I have you bee in that region?

No -- my finances haven't made it to Sweden yet -- I'm afraid it waits for retirement funds in a few years -- but maybe we can exchange genealogy charts if I can find the ones I played with a few years ago...

> 34
I pulled Doktor Glas out from the bookshelf. I didn't reread it all but just wanted to see what it said about the heat in the original Swedish. If you are referring to the very first page of the book, dated June 12th, the second sentence ("Rötmånadshetta sedan mitten av maj." in Swedish) that means that they had experienced typical July or August temperatures since mid-May, but it is difficult to make a good translation into English. "Rötmånad" literally means "rot month" or "putrefaction month" and refers to the dogdays - the warmest period of the year - that occur during the second half of the Swedish summer (around July 20-August 20) when it was difficult to keep the food fresh in the pre-refrigerator era. So one other possible translation could be along the lines of "Dogday heat since mid-May." But I can understand if the translator opted for "heat wave" ...

Temperature-wise 25-30° C during day time would be unusually warm for May and 30-35° C for June in Stockholm. I even bothered to check out what the Swedish heat records are: 32.5° C for May and 38.0° C for June respectively, both recorded in the province of Småland about 350 km south of Stockholm.

Well, I'm sorry to say that I didn't get anywhere close to picking up The Royal Physician's Visit this month (never mind any rebel reading). I hope to get to it later this year and I'll try to remember to post back here.

I finally finished the last couple of stories in Torgny Lindgren's Merab's Beauty last night. Each of the stories is a small gem of a portrait -- a cross-section of a Northern Swedish agricultural community mostly in the first third of the 20th c. The volume is soaked with piety, guilt, hard-work, and passion -- touched by TB and the world wars -- but hardly at all by technology or the outside world. The tone is more lyrical than grim, but I could have used a bit more sunshine by the time I finished. And, while I appreciate the iridescence of a good story, I'm not really fond of reading a whole collection at once, no doubt why it took me a month to finish this slim volume.

I know this theme read is over, but since I just read Gregorius by Bengt Ohlsson I thought I would comment on it here. In this novel, which won prizes in Sweden, Ohlsson explores the unsavory character from the classic Doctor Glas (published in 1905 but very "modern"), Pastor Gregorius. I actually felt sorry for Gregorius when I read Doctor Glas, so I was interested in reading this contemporary work when urania mentioned it. Ohlsson provides an intense, almost claustrophobic look into Gregorius's mind, heart, and soul (as a pastor, God is real to him), generally paralleling the story from Doctor Glas but adding in back story about his childhood and earlier friendship with his young wife's parents as well as other relationships and actions that Doctor Glas, the narrator of the earlier novel, could not have known about. I came away thinking of Gregorius as tormented, lonely, very perceptive but also self-centered, and far from the horrible person portrayed in Doctor Glas. In Sweden, I think most people have read Doctor Glas, so this book would resonate with them; here in the US, where it is not a common read, I don't know how Gregorius would stand on its own.