New Swedish Books, autumn 2020 1
57 Autumn 2020 What if – The New Age of Anxiety W
hat if I didn’t turn off the stove? What if the person who last sat on this park bench had Covid-19 and now the disease has somehow spread to the armrest? What if I get ill? What if the world ends tomorrow? What if I lose my job? Roland Paulsen is a senior lecturer in sociology. In his latest book What if: The New Age of Anxiety he tackles the inability of the modern human to live with the inherent uncertainty of life. The mantra “what if” is the mind’s futile attempt at anticipating and guarding itself against a future that despite, or perhaps because of, a thoroughly regulated existence, feels like a bottomless pit. With a deft hand Paulsen mixes empiricism with theory, sensitively sketching a human who appears to be lost in a self-made labyrinth of civilisation. Moa Matthis’ choice Roland Paulsen Selected works Empty Labor: Idleness and Workplace Resistance 2014 Vi bara lyder. En berättelse om Arbetsförmedlingen 2015 Selected awards Johan Hansson-priset 2015 Psychology, 344 p. Roland Paulsen Publisher Albert Bonniers Förlag Rights Bonnier Rights Madelene Andersson madelene.andersson@ bonnierrights.se Rights sold to Germany/Goldmann Finland/Tammi Poland/ Zwierciadło Photo: Johanna Hanno