New Swedish Books, Autumn 2017 1
13 Autumn 2017 Per Odensten (b. 1938) The Shard T
hrough the Mountain’s Night Publisher Norstedts www.norstedts.se Rights Norstedts eva.gedin@norstedts.se Selected Works Nio sätt att beskriva regnet Novel 2011 Andningskonstnären Novel 2013 Människoätarens skugga Novel 2015 Selected Literary Prizes Tidningen Vi:s litteraturpris 1981 TCO:s kulturpris 1983 Svenska Dagbladets litteraturpris 1999 The Shard Through the Mountain’s Night In The Shard Through the Mountain’s Night Per Odensten narrates a saga in words crackle and spark. At once echoing folk tales and Old Norse myths, and inspired by more modern writers and work like Albert Camus or Ted Hughes’ classic Crow. In all of his novels, Per Odensten pushes the boundaries of his narratives to the point where it’s about Man at the limits of existence. It can then be about madness and magic, as in his debut Gheel, or, like here, about the exhaustion of the gods. The Shard Through the Mountain’s Night is a philosophical novel with a strong message, as well as an exciting and imaginative rewriting of the fortunes of the gods. It’s dark, and more than once we witness a horrific sequence of events taking place, yet the light can’t help but shine through, through love, humanity, and in the will to survive despite it all. This is defiance – the foundation and condition for life. Photo: Moa Odensten