2025:2

Welcome to this special issue of Swedish Book Review, in which we explore city writing, in particular representations of London in contemporary Swedish literature. Curated in partnership with UCL European Institute and its interactive, multifaceted initiative Lost and Found: A European Literary Map of London, this issue shines a light on Sweden’s rich tradition of city writing, and cities as sites of exchange and transformation.  

In features, Uta Staiger, Associate Professor of European Studies at UCL and co-curator of this issue, reveals the background to the European Literary Map of London project, discussing in particular what happens when we begin to peel back layers of urban history and explore a London and a Europe of the imagination.

In translations, Aris Fioretos’s The Thin Gods, set partly in Thatcher-era London, offers an unflinching portrait of an artist and an elegant ode to an entire musical scene, while Gabriella Håkansson’s The Heretics’ Temple draws us on an immersive journey through the streets of Regency London, depicting a society juddering into the modern world.

Lyra Ekström Lindbäck’s The Bleed probes the borderlines between reality and fantasy, set against the backdrop of a palpable, pulsating city. Meanwhile, on a misty morning in 1949, a lonely housewife realises that everything has changed, but nothing is different, in Elisabeth Åsbrink’s Abandonment. 

In recognition of the breadth of Swedish city writing – and of London’s links to its sister cities across Europe – we have also included two excerpts that transport us to other cities and other times. In Maxim Grigoriev’s multi-award-winning Europe, a young man is enveloped by Paris’s geometry while wandering the city at night, and in Astray, Hjalmar Söderberg – the quintessential Stockholm writer of his era – describes a man’s amorous adventures through fin-de-siècle Stockholm.

We continue this Europe-wide focus with a fascinating interview series with contemporary European writers for whom place is integral in their work. In this triptych, Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad (the Netherlands), Tone Schunnesson (Sweden) and Iryna Shuvalova (Ukraine) generously share how they respond to the complex fabric of urban modernity, their relationships to London as a city, and the intersections of their various literary practices. 

As ever, our bumper reviews section highlights the breadth and depth of publishing in Sweden today, including reviews of sweeping historical fiction, captivating crime, bewitching children’s fiction and absorbing, intimate poetry.

We would like extend our sincere thanks to Swedish Literature Exchange and UCL European Institute for their support in producing this issue. We hope that you enjoy reading it.