It was very cheering for the translation community to hear bestselling Henning Mankell say in answer to a question on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Book Programme’ recently that if there was a hero in his life, it was the translator. Another of Sweden’s foremost crime writers, and one who also values his translators, is Håkan Nesser, whose Van Veeteren series is now appearing in English. His free-standing psychological thrillers are equally compelling, as the taster in this issue from The Worms on Carmine Street will show.
Agneta Pleijel is one of the doyennes of Swedish literary fiction. She has made historical fiction based on authentic background material her speciality. The extract from The Queen’s Surgeon sheds light on a fascinating period when surgeons were still treated with disdain.
We are in the company of poets in this issue of SBR, not only the three Swedish poets featured here, but also a wider community. This broader group, European and American, were those encountered by SBR’s editor when she attended a recent memorial day for Göran Printz-Påhlson in Cambridge. It was a scholarly yet inclusive and informal event, with friendly exchanges of ideas between poets, translators, translators who were poets, and vice versa. The distinction was gloriously blurred.
Assembling this issue of SBR has at times been rather melancholy work. The friends and colleagues attending the Cambridge event could not help mourning Göran’s death even as they celebrated his life and work. During the editorial process we also, sadly, received news from Sweden of the death of another featured poet, Ragnar Thoursie. With the help of his publisher we were able to contact his son, who told us that Thoursie, though in poor health, had been read the translations and was pleased with them, so they are published here as a tribute to him, with his son’s blessing.
Three poets, three very different approaches, three distinctive languages: the dizzying esoteric games of Printz-Påhlson; the warm social conscience and meditation on ageing offered by Thoursie; and from our third featured poet, Finland-Swedish Eva-Stina Byggmästar, a Sapphic voyage through the landscape of the imagination, its dazzling wordplay a real challenge to the heroic translator.
In this issue we introduce our new Bookshelf editor Anna Paterson. Anna is not only a translator but also reviews Scandinavian books for the British national press, World Literature Today and other publications. She brings energy, enthusiasm and impressive background knowledge to her new role.
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Introduced and translated by James Walker
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Translated by Silvester Mazzarella
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Translated and introduced by Martin Murrell
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Stig Dagerman, Tysk höst (German Autumn)
Norstedts, 2010. ISBN: 9789113023144
Reviewed by Laurie Thompson ▸Read Review
Stig Dagerman, Bränt barn (A Burnt Child)
Norstedts, 2010. ISBN: 9789113023151
Reviewed by Laurie Thompson ▸Read Review
Maria Hamberg, Drömfabriken (The Dream Factory)
Ordfront, 2010. ISBN: 9789170374234
Reviewed by Margaret Dahlström ▸Read Review
Anne Swärd, Till sista andetaget (Breathless)
Svante Weyler, 2009. ISBN: 9789185849338
Reviewed by Sarah Death ▸Read Review
Alexander Ahndoril, Diplomaten (The Diplomat)
Albert Bonniers förlag, 2009. ISBN: 9789100121730
Reviewed by Kevin Halliwell ▸Read Review
Magnus Florin, Ränderna (The Stripes)
Albert Bonniers förlag, 2010. ISBN: 9789100124458
Reviewed by Charles Harrison-Wallace ▸Read Review
Birgitta Stenberg, Eldar och is (Fires and Ice)
Norstedts, 2010. ISBN: 9789113026336
Reviewed by Henning Koch ▸Read Review
Maja Lundgren, Mäktig Tussilago (Powerful Coltsfoot)
Albert Bonniers förlag, 2010. ISBN: 9789100124403
Reviewed by Anna-Lisa Murrell ▸Read Review
Lars Jakobson, Vännerna (The Friends)
Albert Bonniers förlag, 2010. ISBN: 9789100122591
Reviewed by Carl Otto Werkelid ▸Read Review
Johan Theorin, Blodläge (A Place of Blood)
Wahlström & Widstrand, 2010. ISBN: 9789146220589
Reviewed by Marlaine Delargy ▸Read Review
John Ajvide Lindqvist, Lilla stjärna (Little Star)
Ordfront, 2010. ISBN: 9789170374036
Reviewed by Peter Graves ▸Read Review
Lars Kepler, Hypnotisören (The Hypnotist)
Albert Bonniers förlag, 2009. ISBN: 9789100124045
Reviewed by Anna Paterson ▸Read Review
Lars Kepler, Paganinikontraktet (The Paganini Contract)
Albert Bonniers förlag, 2010. ISBN: 9789100124694
Reviewed by Anna Paterson ▸Read Review
Jan Mårtenson, Mord i Havanna (Murder in Havana)
Wahlström & Widstrand, 2009. ISBN: 9789146220732
Reviewed by Eric Dickens ▸Read Review
Håkan Nesser, De ensamma (The Lonely)
Albert Bonniers förlag, 2010. ISBN: 9789100124502
Reviewed by James Walker ▸Read Review
Käbi Laretei, Vart tog all denna kärlek vägen? (Where Did All That Love Go?)
Norstedts, 2009. ISBN: 9789113019962
Reviewed by Sarah Death ▸Read Review