New Swedish Voices 1
In New Swedish Fiction, Stockholm Is Not Where It
’s At Debut novelists show us the road ahead. So where is Swedish fiction going? It is winding its way along gravel lanes ribboned with grass; it is whizzing down streets far from Stockholm’s downtown. Södermalm in Stockholm, with its many cafés, bars and vintage shops, has long held a reputation as Sweden’s mecca for hipsters, artists and writers. Authors certainly do live both here and clustered around other central dots on the Stockholm Metro map. Yet Stockholm does not dominate the landscape of current Swedish debut fiction. Since about 2020 or a little before, most of the top debut novelists in Sweden have looked to different horizons. Recent Swedish debut fiction displays three main trends: the prevalence of northern voices, the return of the epic, and a new poetry of grief and rebellion. For those finding their way in new Swedish fiction, here are some writers to look out for. Northern voices Many of the strongest new literary debuts are about northern Sweden. One of them is I See All That You Do (‘Jag ser allt du gör’, 2020), Annika Norlin’s intrepid collection of short stories that range from pitch black to uproariously funny. A woman loses her baby and selftreats her trauma by walking, walking, walking in the woods. A crappy punk band goes on tour with a set of two-minute songs that all have the same bass line. A confirmed redneck bachelor astonishes his neighbours by luring a heel-wearing woman from the Baltic to his rural New Swedish Voices 10 backwater. The ending may not be happy, but at least the story is good for a laugh. Elin Willows’ stylish debut Inlands (‘Inlandet’, 2018) features a main character who makes an unusual journey: a young woman who leaves Stockholm for a small community in the interior of Norrland in northern Sweden. Young people migrating to cities have never needed an explanation – in life or in literature – but a move to the country