New Swedish Books. Spring 2016 1
NEW SWEDISH BOOKS Bluebird Imagine that you’re th
e only person in possession of a super-ego whilst at a hippie festival where complete sexual expression is on the bill. That is exactly the situation on the ‘Island’ for the deeply repressed Bluebird. On the ‘Island’ EVERYTHING is filthy. Furthermore it’s the mating season and the sound of horny giggles rings in one’s ears. Here you live at one with nature – but to Bluebird nature is disgusting. Instead, what this character, whose gender the author skilfully leaves undetermined, longs for is the shiny, glimmering ‘City’. Over there, Bluebird imagines, no one shags on the street. Utopia or dystopia? With this convincing, clever debut Erika Bernalt has created a new literary universe where desire lives next door to shame. Her language is at once naïve, titillating and spirited, and always original, irrespective of whether she’s writing about shopping malls, sugary overdoses or mating rituals. ERIKA BERNALT BLUEBIRD NORSTEDTS FÖRLAG RIGHTS: NORSTEDTS FÖRLAG 16