Translations
TRANSLATED EXTRACT
from The Writer Ingmar Bergman by Jan Holmberg
Although numerous books have been written about the director, writer and producer Ingmar Bergman, Jan Holmberg’s is the first to focus on Bergman as a literary author.
Translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner
FEATURE
Inaugural Address to the Swedish Academy by Sara Stridsberg
In her inaugural address to the Swedish Academy on 20 December 2016, Sara Stridsberg pays homage to her predecessor, Gunnel Vallquist, and the art of translation.
Translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner.
TRANSLATED EXTRACT
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.
FEATURE
‘My Ukrainian publisher’s son said he wasn’t frightened – but the war changed him’
Before the war the Swedish writer Sara Stridsberg had never had any contact with her Ukrainian publisher. When Russia invaded Ukraine she sent an email. Here she writes about the exchange that followed, the family that was forced to flee, and the place of literature in the ongoing war.
Translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner.
TRANSLATED EXTRACT
from Autumn Apples by Peter Sandström
Written in a beautiful prose with a comic melancholy, Peter Sandström's Autumn Apples is the portrait of a middle-aged man reflecting on his past and trying to make sense of the present.
Translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner.
Interviews
INTERVIEW
An Accidental Translator
In 2019 translator Tom Geddes was awarded the Swedish Academy prize for the promotion of Swedish literature abroad. Here he shares some of the highs and lows in his distinguished career.
Reviews
REVIEW
Vera
When a snowstorm descends on the wedding party, it is so cold the knife won’t cut through the wedding cake and the bubbles freeze in the champagne glasses.
REVIEW
Laudatur
Peter Sandström's Autumn Apples is a masterpiece of understatement, a brilliantly laconic portrait of the sad vicissitudes of life.
REVIEW
Mannen mellan väggarna
Though crimes are definitely committed, this is not a conventional crime novel.
REVIEW
Den sårade divan: om psykets estetik
‘How grandiose, eccentric, depressive, suicidal, bizarre, queer or sexually affirmative can a woman be before she is labelled insane?’
REVIEW
Att föda ett barn
Kristina Sandberg’s monumental trilogy about Maj Berglund, a housewife from the small town of Örnsköldsvik, is a tour de force.
REVIEW
Atomer
She has an understanding of environmental chemistry, mathematics and meteorology – but when it comes to people…
REVIEW
Kassandra
Stockholm medical academia provides a neat setting for this sensitive, educated, music-loving female detective.
REVIEW
Marionetternas döttrar
Storytelling is an important motif in this book, which has elements of a fairy tale itself.
REVIEW
Löpa varg
The Wolf Run, the latest novel by doyenne of Swedish literature, Kerstin Ekman, resonates with a wisdom deeply rooted in nature.
REVIEW
Snöängel
A captivating, complex novel: Palm paints beautiful images of wintry Stockholm and arouses a palpable impression of the 1980s.
Reviews highlights series
Recent Gems in Literary Fiction
A curated list of recent gems in Swedish-language literary fiction, as reviewed in Swedish Book Review.
Reviews highlights series
Compelling Historical Fiction
A curated list of compelling historical fiction, as reviewed in Swedish Book Review.
Reviews highlights series
Women in Translation
Celebrating Women in Translation Month, with a selection of writers and works presented in translation on Swedish Book Review.