New Swedish Books, Spring 2018 1
19 Spring 2018 Kerstin Strandberg (b. 1932) Excis
e Publisher Albert Bonniers förlag www.albertbonniersforlag.se Rights Albert Bonniers förlag eva.bonnier@albertbonniers.se Selected Works Tio syskon i en ömtålig berättelse novel 2000 En obegriplig människa novel 2004 Ett par från Stjärnfallsvägen novel 2015 Selected Literary Prizes Tidningen Vi:s litteraturpris 1978 De Nios Vinterpris 1985 Stina Aronsons pris 2015 Excise “Always frank, seldom wholly aligned with the truth – this has been my path through life”, Kerstin Strandberg writes in her lively autobiography. You have to learn the art of cool distance in order, as a fully-inducted satirist, to begin to long for warmth again. It’s about the relationship between life and fiction, something that has been brought into focus by the novels she has based on real life situations. It’s about whether it’s right to break confidentially to save a story from being forgotten. It’s about an ageing author grappling with the impossible: depicting her own death. Kerstin Strandberg is one of Sweden’s big storytellers. Her literary output has not been the most prolific – Excise is her twelfth book since her debut in 1967 – but it contains all the more dazzling charm, stylistic brilliance and singular tragicomedy for that. Photo: Thomas Wågström