Latest issue
2021:1
With works from Hjalmar Bergman, Kerstin Ekman, Elin Anna Labba, Jila Mossaed,Jessica Schiefauer, Axel Åhman and more.
Writing Memory event
with Anna-Karin Palm and Elisabeth Åsbrink
Thursday 10 June
View a recording of the event here: https://mediacentral.ucl.ac.uk/Player/B1B07I33
LATEST TRANSLATION
from Writing Over Your Face by Anna-Karin Palm
A searing portrait of a life and a family, told through the prism of a mother's gradual disappearance into Alzheimer's disease.
Translated by Anna McGroarty
LATEST TRANSLATION
from Abandonment by Elisabeth Åsbrink
Set across three generations of women in three cities, Abandonment is a captivating story of love, emigration and humanity that traces how secrets and lies pass from one generation to the next.
Translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner.
Translations
TRANSLATED STORY
The Sauna Throne by Axel Åhman
At a public swimming pool somewhere in Finland, a young man decides to take a sauna. The ensuing sweaty power struggle is a hilarious, finely tuned exploration of masculinity, linguistic identity and the corrupting nature of power
Translated by D.E. Hurford
TRANSLATED EXTRACT
from Mister von Hancken by Hjalmar Bergman
Hjalmar Bergman's classic 1920 novel, about a madcap a captain and knight errant, uses warmth and humour to lay bare the inner workings of his characters and of the wider age.
Translated by Margareta Horiba
TRANSLATED EXTRACT
from Tullia's World by Kerstin Ekman
Tullia's World is a fascinating attempt to recreate the life of Roman women, interwoven with themes ranging from feminism to pacifism to climate change.
Translated by Linda Schenck.
Swedish Book Review - bringing Swedish-language literature to the English-speaking world
SBR is committed to bringing Swedish-language literature to the English-speaking world, and to promoting works in translation. In 2021, with the publication of our full online archive, we will be launching our new membership package. SBR membership gives you access to hundreds of reviews, translations and features on the latest in Swedish literature.
Latest features
LATEST FEATURE
Where in the world do I stand?
In her inaugural speech upon induction into the Swedish Academy, Jila Mossaed discusses her poetry, and her choice to change writing language in order to bear witness. Translated by Brad Harmon.
LATEST INTERVIEW
So How Was Your Year? Selling Nordic Literature in 2020
Urpu Strellman, Judith Toth and Sofie Voller discuss the year 2020 in rights, offering an insight into their day-to-day work.
PAST ISSUES NOW LIVE
A number of our previous issues are now available to browse on our website. View our current online catalogue of previous issues here, and become a member to read them all.
Reviews
LATEST REVIEW
Övergivenheten
'I was born ready to flee.' Elisabeth Åsbrink's genre-bending book portrays three generations of women against the background of Jewish diaspora history.
LATEST REVIEW
Jag föreslår att vi vaknar
Beate Grimsrud's semi-autobiographical final novel - written in Swedish and self-translated into Norwegian - is an astonishing exploration of what it means for an individual life – ‘a giant dot’ – to be erased.
LATEST REVIEW
Tullias värld
In Tullias värld, Kerstin Ekman sets out with grace, inventiveness and often anger to shed light on the hidden lives of the women of Ancient Rome.
LATEST REVIEW
Där solen aldrig går ned
Journalist Henrik Brandão Jönsson's fourth book is a short history of the Lusophone world that brings together several of the key Portuguese-speaking nations in one volume, providing insight into parts of the world readers may know little to nothing about.
LATEST REVIEW
Överallt och ingenstans
Överallt och ingenstans is a well-crafted, pleasantly meandering chapter book that brings together the small and big things in life, like cozy Friday nights, lice and complicated friendships.
LATEST REVIEW
och när hon får andnöd av sorg måste jag blunda
Kina Nilsson’s lapidary free verse poems, 77 of which are published in this anthology, are a testimony to the dedication of the hospital staff who have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Become A Member
SBR membership gives you access to hundreds of reviews, translations and features on the latest in Swedish literature. Become a member.