Anna Paterson

Investigative journalism at this level of intelligence and personal engagement is always more worthwhile than most other sources of ‘news’.

Duraid Al-Khamisi tells the powerful account of Middle Eastern current affairs in the language of an oriental storyteller.

Markus Heilig, a psychiatrist turned neuroscientist, has set himself an ambitious project: to explain sex differences in brain structure and function and to show what happens in brains – not just the human one – at different stages of development.

But we are pulled back from the brink: what if the notion of humanity being in charge is, after all, an enabling, hopeful story to tell ourselves?

Charlotta von Zweigbergk's Fattigfällan (The Poverty Trap) is a social case history retold with passionate subjectivity.

The exploration of her own past was a driving force behind Elisabeth Åsbrink's selection of people and events from 1947 and gives this book its special atmosphere.

Such benign vagueness is probably the best policy for someone who lives under threat, not only from former potentially murderous co-religionists but also assorted security agencies (the Swedish included).

A secret concealed in the communal laundry: a tub full of pulsating black goo that craves blood and offers in return irresistible mystical transports.

A carefully made documentary in print: two skilful communicators have joined forces to stimulate readers into learning more about their special subject.

Who but an artist could better interpret for the rest of us just what it is like to be mentally ill?

Öland: ‘A place where a chilly, salty taste forms a membrane, coating and soothing ever-open wounds which will always struggle to heal’.

A provocative retelling of Roland Paulsen’s study of Sweden’s Public Employment Service.

Ulrika Knutson's fascinating, vibrant biographical narrative explores the life of Elin Wägner, one of Sweden's most important writers of the early 1900s.

Sem-Sandberg is a masterly analyst who has chosen to present his observations in fiction rather than in historical works.

A complicated but nicely plotted cloak-and-dagger thriller, sweetened by an affair of the heart, inside a narrative framework based on recent and not-so-recent historical fact.

When Emilia finally ‘comes home’, little of what she remembers still stands in the new Euro-Poland. What was that past of hers – a dream?

Socially aware and experimentally inclined.

Sara is a believer: she believes passionately in the power of books.

Rådström’s God in this Bible does not rule from on high, but is the Writer of the world and, like all writers, wonders at the way his creation tends to slip out of control.

‘Madness’ is not just an idea, but rather the essence of the book.

A perfect combination for those wanting to get a grip on their own issues with ‘the system’.

Arguments as much as works of literature, inviting thought about what illness means to the individual and his/her nearest, as well as presenting, at times obliquely, the issues raised by attempts to organise health care on a massive scale.

Drawing on the latest research, this volume is a welcome addition to the comparative histories on Scandinavia and the Second World War.

As in the best fantasy novels, the possibility of unknowable forces on the very fringe of our perceivable reality lends depth and tension to Korkea-aho’s novel.

Exceptionally intelligent as well as an intellectual, Donner displays sheer brainpower, which imposes shape, style and interest on the extraordinary miscellanea of his life.

A readable, fascinating journey into politicised crime, set in a past that feels both distant and very close.

The Börjlinds’ huge experience as scriptwriters – 25-odd Sjöwall & Wahlöö film and TV series, goodness knows how many Arne Dahl and Henning Mankell ones, and a large number of their own contributions – tells at every turn and twist.

It makes sense to review these two political thrillers together: both reflect the professional preoccupations of the writers as well as their strongly held and strikingly similar political views, both explore sympathetically the Islamic/Islamist anger that interacts with what is arguably an unlawful Western overreaction, and both are very well informed.

A fusion of fictionalised reportage and interpretative biography.

A great source of information and an articulate companion to crime fiction as a literary genre.

The author’s personal and frankly partisan account of a period as a Member of Parliament.

Intelligent discussion of democratic political processes.

The blurb speaks of ‘a hilarious play on the idea of autofiction’ – and so it is. The story about the famous writer Lillemor Troj is closely based on Kerstin Lillemor Ekman’s own literary career.

Kjell Johansson has been writing insightful stories about people in insecure jobs since long before the lot of the precariat became the trendiest of socio-political topics. Bad People offers gripping insights into the different ways humanity is undermined by social insecurity.

An exciting story, skilfully told, in the 'adventure tale' category.

The author is insightful about the quirky by-ways of the mind, knows a lot about science and in particular about viruses.

Göran Persson could see no reason for Sweden to be ashamed of anything it did during the war. Klas Åmark’s book is in every way a contribution to greater knowledge and vigorous debate. Those who want a powerful argument in favour of reading this work should consider this brief, simple motive: to find out how right Persson was and, later, how wrong.

Gedin cares for his subject, but is not restrained: Larsson is shown to be a greater artist and a less consistently agreeable man than his reputation might suggest.

Magnus Bärtås and Fredrik Ekman have written books together before: wry studies of closed, cultish societies. But they are keen on the cinema and its lore, and have now picked a perfect travel goal: secretive North Korea.

Beate Grimsrud’s story about madness and creativity.

A quote from Henrik Berggren explains the drive behind this biography: ‘Checking the newspaper cuttings about Palme, I realised I had found a source referring to much of the history of the twentieth century.’

Agnes von Krusenstjerna's tetralogy charting the decline of an entire class is republished.

True to his trademark style, Lars Jakobson’s novel is large and intricately constructed – a literary hybrid, alive with a pulse that oscillates between fiction and documentary.

When it became obvious that this first novel in the series was going straight to the top of the leader board, the media started to chase the elusive Lars Kepler.

Lars Kepler's novel is an exercise in political analysis – national and international bureaucracies, treaties and alliances – and classical music theory.

One of the many triumphs of Steve Sem-Sandberg's narrative is that it shows how the mechanics of persecution operate within a society of the persecuted.

An account of a remarkable court case against the most unlikely of criminal gangs – private home care providers – is followed by well-informed commentary, case histories and interviews in The Home Care Mafia. Finally, a piece of journalistic dynamite: a unique list, naming and shaming assorted provider organisations and local authorities.

A literary confrontation with the fact of the suicide of a boyhood friend in the late 70s, this is the book Niklas Rådström spent thirty years not writing.

A curated list of recent gems in Swedish-language literary fiction, as reviewed in Swedish Book Review.

A curated list of compelling historical fiction, as reviewed in Swedish Book Review.

A curated list of recent highlights in narrative non-fiction, as reviewed in Swedish Book Review.

Åke Smedberg, one of Sweden’s best-loved contemporary writers, presents a very Swedish genre: nature lyricism running like a red thread through a narrative, illuminated by bittersweet reminiscence.

Agneta Pleijel's historical fiction demonstrates elegantly how history can aid maturity through observing and identifying with the humanity of shadowy figures from the past.

Agneta Pleijel's historical fiction demonstrates elegantly how history can aid maturity through observing and identifying with the humanity of shadowy figures from the past.

Ulla-Lena Lundberg and Negar Naseh: two women writers from different generations and cultural backgrounds, with voices as distinctive as the settings of their narratives. Their novels Light and Flame and A Handful of Wind offer spell-binding insights into the landscapes of their minds.

Ulla-Lena Lundberg and Negar Naseh: two women writers from different generations and cultural backgrounds, with voices as distinctive as the settings of their narratives. Their novels Light and Flame and A Handful of Wind offer spell-binding insights into the landscapes of their minds.

Sara Gordan’s The Night was received with unanimous, overwhelmingly warm praise for her unique style of novelistic autobiography that focuses on a troubled, loving parenthood.

Dusk 41, number nine in Kjell Westö’s group of novels reflecting twentieth-century Finnish history, follows a handful of people ‘like you and me’ who lead their lives as best they can while their country is at war and, after a brief, anxious peace, is drawn into an even bigger war.

Enforcers of unfree labour are victims and perpetrators: in The Slavedriver, Anders Teglund combines reportage and historical essays to examine that grim paradox.