New Swedish Books, autumn 2019 1
New Swedish Books 28 Blood in the Gravel In Blood
in the Gravel a school assignment about older people’s pasts turns out to be unexpectedly exciting. The central character Mats is in fifth grade and is asked to interview an older person about how life was when they were young. Both his grandpas’ stories of life during the Second World War don’t pass muster: his paternal grandfather worked in the woods and his maternal grandfather on the railways. But at his neighbours, Ing-Marie and Lasse, he discovers a thrilling tale about life in the sawmills of Northern Sweden during the thirties, about the communities scattered along the Baltic coast, and about the labour movement. Mats Jonsson does not make things easy for himself. He portrays Lasse, the neighbour, as demented and slightly badtempered. He grabs hold of the narrator screaming “blood in the gravel, blood in the gravel”. As this is repeated the novel moves back in time to one of the most significant events in Swedish history. An event very few young adult novels have ever covered: the 1931 general strike at Ådalen and the demonstrations where the military opened fire against the protesters. The author tells a complex story that moves back and forth in time – between the school assignment and classroom relationships, back to the time when Ing-Marie and Lasse first met. The two young people’s hard graft, but also their joy and sense of belonging, is juxtaposed with the difficulties that caring for someone with dementia now presents. The central character gets involved in both what happened then and what happens now – a unique perspective on historical fiction. Mats Jonsson (b. 1973) Blood in the Gravel, Chapter book, 9–12 years, 186 p. Publisher Alfabeta Bokförlag www.alfabeta.se Rights Alfabeta Annakaisa Danielsson annakaisa.danielsson @alfabeta.se Works Nya Norrland, graphic novel, 2017 The series about ‘Mats’, chapter books, 2013–2015 Awards Urhunden 2006 Läsarnas Sveriges medalj 2013 Norrlands litteraturpris 2016 Photo: Idha Lindhag