What They’re Reading: Sweden’s North Country Fare
Sweden is famous for its liberal ideas, its efficient social model, and a standard of living that rivals any other. But a rich literary tradition? FP talked with Svante Weyler, former publishing director of one of Sweden’s oldest publishing houses, Norstedts, for his take on the books that enlighten and entertain the Swedes.
Foreign Policy: What are Swedes reading these days and why?
Foreign Policy: What are Swedes reading these days and why?
Svante Weyler: They are buying books by Orhan Pamuk, last year’s Nobel Prize winner…, [especially] his novel Snow and the book on his hometown, Istanbul: Memories and the City. Swedish crime novels are extremely popular, including [those of] newcomers like the young former attorney Åsa Larsson, with her stories from Sweden’s far north, above the Arctic Circle. Female crime writers are dominating the genre more and more, just as female readers are influencing the publishing business more than ever, across all genres.
FP: Which newer authors are capturing readers?
SW: This year’s winner of the August Prize (our Booker) was a remarkable first novel by Susanna Alakoski called Svinalängorna, which is the condescending nickname of a suburban place in south Sweden. Alakoski described her miserable childhood as a daughter of excessive-drinking Finnish immigrants. Her main rival for the prize was a young Swedish-Tunisian writer, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, whose novel Montecore tells the story of an immigrant and his son [who fail to integrate into Swedish society]. Khemiri is the Swedish answer to Zadie Smith and Monica Ali. [Besides Alakoski and Khemiri], new authors have had difficulty reaching a big audience. The literary scene in Sweden is still dominated by the generation that had its break in the 1960s and 70s.
FP: Are there any Swedish authors who embody the national ethos?
SW: There used to be several authors, most of them originating from the working-class or poorer peasant families. But just as you can’t speak of a national ethos in Sweden today, you can’t speak of authors who embody it. There is, however, a lasting debate on national identity, and this year saw several books on that theme, one of the most acclaimed being Är svensken människa? (Is the Swede a Human Being?), by two historians, Henrik Berggren and Lars Trägårdh. They try to show that the Swedes are more individualistic than anyone else, and that the instrument for this liberation from family, church, and other organic structures is the state.
FP: Do you think there is anything particularly unique about literary trends in Sweden?
SW: One unique trend is that Swedes don’t just read a lot; they read for their own pleasure. They lead [other countries] by far. Most people in the world do their homework and get their professional training by reading books, but no people use literature for pleasure as much as we do. For someone coming from a country so dominated by Lutheran thinking, that is a true delight.
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